Missing Scenes Season 4
by cucumbermelon3200
Summary: Just a collection of scenes I've tried to incoorporate into recent episodes. Even though they have been AMAZING so far! Mostly stuff for the new characters on Atlantis, Sam & Keller.
1. Reunion

Reunion

Colonel Samantha Carter sat quietly at her desk, all her attention focused on the task at hand—preparing a letter to send to Earth during their next scheduled check-in, which should be tomorrow.

She had promised her team before leaving that she would inform them anytime anything exciting happened—Vala had insisted. And, go figure, her first couple days on the job and something "exciting" had already happened.

Well, actually… she had already gotten off to a rocky start with the Satedan man, Ronan, and she didn't expect that _he_ would consider getting beaten up and betrayed by his friends to be "exciting".

She sighed heavily, pausing in her typing to rub her face in her hands tiredly. A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up, startled.

"Ronan!" she exclaimed, recognizing the tall muscular form of the man standing in her doorway. She closed her laptop and folded her arms over it. "Come in," she said, trying to sound welcoming.

The man entered as he was told but didn't sit down. He seemed a little unsure as to what to do next, and his discomfort was making Sam uncomfortable. She just gazed up at him, waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

"Umm… I just wanted to let you know, I've decided to stay here. I mean, things have been kind of crazy lately… Sheppard wanted me to come by and make sure I don't have to sign any contracts or anything…"

Sam smiled at the Colonel's suggestion. It sounded like something Jack would have requested of Teal'c; he would've come up with some joke the alien man didn't understand to cover up his concern for him. God, she missed those guys.

"It's taken care of," she assured.

Ronan nodded appreciatively.

"Was there something else?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Umm, yeah," he admitted in a rough voice. "I just wanted to apologize for not respecting your decision not to let me bring my friends back to Atlantis. If I had brought them back… well, we'd all probably be dead, so... I'm glad you did what you did."

Sam frowned. She hadn't been expecting this. "They were your friends Ronan. I would have done the same thing."

The Satedan nodded respectively, and mumbled something as he turned to leave. "They're not my friends anymore."

Sam knew the guy had a soft side he was hiding. In fact, she had guessed when she had first seen him that he would end up being very much like Teal'c: the appearance of a tough-guy, but with such a quiet nature that most people get scared off; you just had to get to know him to see a whole other side—but people rarely see it because he's so careful about who he trusts, but when you do break through that protective barrier you'll find a caring, funny, and extremely protective person.

Sam knew she had yet to break through that barrier with him, or anyone here, she knew that; but the same could be said for someone like Sheppard—trying to be friendly and welcome her in, but she's just not ready to accept it yet. It would take time for that.

"Ronan!" she called after him, and he paused in the doorway. "I…I really am sorry about what happened."

He nodded again and stalked out of the office. Sam frowned and reopened her laptop to finish her letter. She scanned over what she had written so far; it was pretty long. It would do for now. She scrolled to the bottom to write her goodbyes.

'Anyway…' she typed. 'I've got to get going. McKay's probably come across another "extremely important discovery that needs my immediate attention" by now. But don't worry about me. I'm settling in pretty well…

Actually, I think I've already made a few new friends.

…I mean… I miss you guys! I'll see you when Christmas rolls around, and I'll bring all of you souvenirs from the Pegasus Galaxy.

Love,

Sam

She pushed the save button and closed the top again. Storing it under her arm, she switched off the lights and headed for her quarters, smiling at the image of Vala's reaction to her going off to another galaxy and having 'new' friends within the first three days there.

Of course, that's not what she would call it, and she did miss her friends tremendously, but for the first time since arriving she found herself truly confident in her new position. She felt that if she could learn to get along with Ronan, of all people, then things were looking up.


	2. Doppelganger

Doppelganger

Sirens were blaring loudly as though they were right beside her. Sam opened her eyes and found herself standing in an SGC corridor, a P-90 slung around her shoulder, and wearing her army boots and fatigues.

Her conscious mind knew this was wrong, that she was in the Pegasus Galaxy in the city of the Ancients, and she had just retreated to her quarters for the first nap she had gotten in days; but to her unconscious mind, this all made sense.

She gripped her weapon closely to her and whirled around, firing at one of Anubis' super soldiers and watching him tremble with the force of the bullets and fall to the ground. She whirled around again and shot at another one.

"Sam there's too many of them! We have to go!" Vala yelled over the P-90 fire and Sam felt herself back to back with the woman, firing heavily towards the advancing enemy. They were outnumbered, but somehow that didn't matter to her and she kept shooting.

All of a sudden, Sam felt the form behind her jerk and slacken, she heard a painful scream and she turned to support the falling woman. The super soldier that had shot her was marching up to them and Sam finished it with a quick round of bullets, before turning her attention to the woman on the ground.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and smoke rose from a deep wound in the center of her chest. Sam was in shock, and she touched her friend's cheek with the back of her hand.

Vala gasped, trying to form words, but her eyes slid shut and her head rolled limply to the side.

"Vala!?!" Sam said, patting her cheek roughly. "No, Vala! Don't die!" She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she dragged her dead friend out of the line of fire and shot furiously at the two soldiers who had been shooting at them.

"Sam, this way!"

Sam turned towards the voice that had called to her and saw Daniel and Teal'c standing, backs against a wall a few corners down. Daniel was wearing that look of fear and adrenalin and was looking hopefully at Sam, glancing away occasionally to zat an approaching drone.

Standing up besides the body she was protecting, she took a moment to mentally debate her options when a loud explosion sounded and the archeologists face was consumed in a bright orange fireball.

She instinctively knelt on the ground and covered her head as the fire kawooshed through the corridors like an engaging wormhole then faded away.

"Daniel! Teal'c! No!" she screamed, her eyes searching wildly for her lost friends.

Then she felt a firm hand on her shoulder and she turned around to find Cameron gazing at her, a weapon held tightly in his other hand. "Come on, Sam! We found a way out," he explained, and glancing over his shoulder she saw Jack O'Neill firing his P-90 at some more super soldiers. Vala had disappeared and it was only the three of them and an army of drones.

She stammered, not knowing what to say and still frozen from the shock of losing three friends. She knew that tears were streaming down her cheeks by now and Cam had noticed it also, but he didn't say anything. Instead he grasped her arm and began pulling her along.

"Come on, this way!" he repeated, and this time Sam obliged, hurrying after him.

They had only made it about four steps when Cam let out a horrible scream like Vala and collapsed in front of her, a smoking wound in the center of his back.

She dropped to the ground next to him and turned him over, this time dropping her P-90 besides her and shaking his torso roughly.

"Cam! Cameron!" she screamed, but his eyes had glossed over and he wasn't moving. Then she felt a strong hand wrap around her upper arm and haul her to her feet, dragging her away, but she struggled against it.

"Sam, we have to go!" came Jack O'Neill's harsh voice, but she still tried to pull away.

"No! We can't leave him here!" she screamed, and he grabbed her other arm to restrain her.

As she turned around in his grip, he held her firmly and gazed into her eyes pleadingly and she stopped struggling. Then, she heard the sound of P-90 fire and was alarmed when she realized neither she nor Jack had fired.

Her eyes refilled themselves with tears when Jack loosened his grip and began to stagger, and she noticed a series of dark red bullet wounds in his chest. She held onto him, trying to stop his fall but his heavy body hit the floor with a thud and she froze in shock.

Looking up, she saw a shadowy figure approaching her, holding the weapon that had just killed the General. She backed away in terror, her forgotten gun no where to be seen.

The man smirked evilly at her and raised his weapon, and she gasped when she recognized the face as belonging to John Sheppard.

Sam sprang up into a sitting position on her bed, breathing heavily as the image disappeared from her mind. She looked around her dark room and shivered slightly at the bareness of it. She could feel beads of sweat above her brow and she tried to control her breathing.

She jumped again slightly when she heard a knock and she turned towards the source of the sound.

Hastily wiping away sweat from her forehead, she hurried to the door, pulling a jacket on over her tank top.

When she opened her door, she was surprised to see Dr. Keller nervously wringing her hands in her doorway.

"What is it?" she demanded, forgetting her usual need to be polite to the young woman. Keller looked up at her nervously and stammered a bit before answering.

"It's Doctor Heightmeyer…"


	3. Travelers

Travelers

Sam watched as the vessel descended through the air steadily until it was level with the dialing gate.

She had practically given McKay the go-ahead before he even finished explaining his "master plan". Sam had understood his point after the first sentence, having a PhD in astrophysics herself, and wasn't in the mood to hear the full blown out McKay-isized explanation.

Rodney had stuttered a bit, (no one had ever interrupted his techno babble before) and Teyla and Ronan nodded their respects before hurrying out to the jumper bay.

It had taken all of her restraint not to shout after them, "Wait for me! I'll go gear up!"

Ever since she arrived here she had been feeling a twitch in her left foot; that twitch that meant she needed to get up and do something productive, preferably travel to another planet and take out her frustration on some evil aliens. But that wasn't her place anymore.

Of course she could go on missions if she wanted to; she was head of military operations, after all… but if it was her friend out there she knew she would want to be the one to go after him, not some stranger; she wouldn't have cared how many _qualifications _that person had.

Now she was that stranger.

She now knew how Dr. Weir must have felt taking command of the SGC after Hammond retired. Like Sam, she was taking the place of a highly respected and much loved person. And now she was beginning to regret having been such a pain in the ass to her about going after Jack. Now she puts herself in her position, and she couldn't honestly say she would have acted differently.

But this situation wasn't like Elizabeth's. Rodney's plan was full proof and Shepherd was a valuable member of the expedition, (not that Elizabeth wasn't, but the risk was too great there.)

Sam's fingers clenched over the rail of the overlook and she forced herself to stay put. They didn't need her on this mission; she didn't have the gene to fly a jumper, Ronan and Teyla could handle any fights they might get themselves into, and McKay would surely be insulted if she believed he couldn't handle his job.

The last chevron locked into place and the Stargate engaged.

"Ready to depart," Rodney reported over the radio.

Sam stared blankly into the blue ripples of the wormhole and clicked her radio. "Good luck Jumper 1. And bring him home."


	4. Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa

Sam woke up in shock, her eyes darting around wildly. This place looked no more familiar then the last. It was filled with people, so many she could hardly see the walls. It was a large room though. She was lying on her back on the bottom step of a small flight of stairs and around her, a few people occupied beds.

She sat up nervously. She could barely remember what had happened before she woke up here. She was in a strange room, and she had walked out and found a group of people coming towards her. She wanted to ask them where she was, what was going on, but they pointed some kind of weapon at her and then everything went black again.

A petite young woman with dirty blond hair was sitting one step up from her, holding her knees close to her body and rocking back and forth.

The woman caught her eye and studied her as though she were incredibly surprised to see her conscious.

"Do you know where she are?" she asked nervously.

Sam shook her head. "No."

She flexed her aching back and planted her feet onto the ground. As she did so, she felt a cool object swing around under her shirt, and she fumbled for it excitedly. The stranger curiously moved closer so she was hovering over her shoulder.

Sam, ignoring this action, kept her attention on the object she had discovered tucked under her shirt. She found that the object was attached to a chain around her neck and pulled it free, paying little mind to the red mark that formed on the back of her neck.

She turned the objects over in her hand. They were two small silver rectangles, both with tiny markings inscribed on one side.

"Hey, what is that?" the woman asked, curiously.

Sam shrugged and handed it over to her to examine. "I don't know."

The woman furrowed her eyebrows at the strange objects and held them close to her face, attempting to read them.

"What's a… Call-O-nal?" she asked, drawling out the word as if it was alien. Sam took the chain back to examine it herself.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, shuffling the two thin pieces of metal so she could look at the other one.

"Atlantis…" she read. "That sounds familiar."

"Really?" the younger woman asked in wonder. "What do you suppose it means?"

"I don't know… But it sounds familiar," she said simply.

The strangers' attention was torn away from Sam as some commotion could be heard on the opposite end of the room. The doors had slid open and the group from before was dragging an unconscious man into the large crowded room.

Without another word, the woman wandered off to investigate and Sam was left to her thoughts.


	5. Missing

Missing

Dr. Jennifer Keller was sitting in her office, a laptop alight in front of her as she typed away at some notes from various check-ups, when she heard a knock on the wall outside her lab and she looked up just as Colonel Carter poked her head in and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey, come in!" she greeted, finishing up her sentence and turning her attention away from her laptop.

"Hey, how's the leg?" Carter asked, strolling in somewhat nervously, clapping her hand over her fist and making the sound into a rhythm.

"Oh, it's fine," Keller assured, rolling around in her chair so she would be prepared to get up should it be requested. "It's Teyla you should be worried about."

Sam ceased her clapping, folding her arms in front of her. "Yeah, Sheppard's in with her right now, but she's still pretty upset. I guess you can't blame her. That's pretty rough news to take in."

'Crap,' Keller thought. She had promised to keep Teyla's pregnancy between the two of them and until now she was sure she had kept to her word. How the hell had Carter found out about it?

"About her people, I mean," Sam explained, noting how the young Doctor's head shot up and her eyes widened.

Jennifer relaxed in her chair. "Oh, yeah… right," she stammered, and the Colonel rose an eyebrow suspiciously. "Well, Teyla's one of the strongest people I know," she said. "If anyone can find her people, she can."

"Yeah, I just wish I could do something to help," Sam said, smiling sadly. Keller returned it with one of sympathy as she turned to leave, but paused in the doorway.

"Dr. Keller?" she asked, turning back to face her.

"Yes?"

"Is there anything you're not telling me?"

Jennifer paused. She knew Carter was her commanding officer, and if she was military she'd have no choice but to tell the truth; but Teyla was her friend—a friend she greatly respected, (not that she didn't respect Carter) and she had made her a promise.

She looked down at her keyboard and shook her head, smiling.

"No, nothing."


	6. The Seer

The Seer

"He was an interesting man," Keller said solemnly, retreating from her work station.

"Yes," Teyla said. "He knew that I was pregnant."

Keller nodded in understanding. "You know, pretty soon other people are going to start to find out too. Sooner or later you're going to have to tell them."

Teyla nodded. "I know."

"So what now?"

Teyla glanced at her with interest. "You expressed interest in learning to spar?" she reminded, eagerly changing the subject. The young woman's eyes widened at the suggestion.

"Well… yeah, but… surely not in your condition," she argued, waving her hands vaguely in the direction of her abdomen.

Teyla started out of the infirmary and Keller trailed behind her in concern.

"You are a beginner, Doctor; I highly doubt you could injure me," she said with confidence.

Keller frowned in offense. "Hey! Well… that's not the point! I'm more afraid of you potentially injuring yourself, or worse…" she lowered her voice while a few marines passed. "…the baby."

Teyla smiled at the way the young woman cautiously peered over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening every time she brought up Teyla's pregnancy. "I will be very careful to avoid that, trust me. Besides, if I am to teach you what I know I must begin training you while I still can."

"Who said we were in a hurry?"

"Dr. Keller if you are to go off world you must be prepared to defend yourself, you said so yourself," she reminded her as they arrived at the door to the training room and paused outside of it.

"Ok, so I just won't go off world until after you have your baby," Keller said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Teyla grinned. "I don't think so," she said, and opened the doors.

Stepping inside, the two women were extremely surprised to find their commanding officer lying on her stomach in the center of the room in sweat pants and a tank top, her chin resting on crossed arms and gazing into the blaze of a burning candle. She appeared to be in deep thought, and hadn't noticed them yet.

"Colonel Carter…" Keller asked nervously.

The woman looked up instantly, clearly surprised to find them standing in the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, as though they had just walked in on a private meeting.

"We just got here. You didn't hear us come in?" Keller asked, still somewhat nervous.

Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "Sorry, guess I wasn't paying attention," she said, propping herself up on her elbows and standing up.

Keller may not be a psychiatrist, but she could tell Sam was still obsessing over that vision. It wasn't healthy, and so she didn't try to ask what was troubling her. She figured it would be best if she got her mind off the subject of their impending doom for at least 5 minutes.

"What exactly are you doing?" Teyla asked, her tone clearly implying that she found this scene to be very bizarre.

"Oh, actually, I…" the embarrassment was just starting to sink in and Sam could feel the heat rising to her face. Of course that must have looked _odd_. "…I'm trying to Kel-no-Reem. My friend Teal'c suggested it to me as a way of clearing the mind… it's… it's a form of meditation," she explained, using squiggly hand motions to illustrate.

"You do realize you were in the wrong position for meditation?" Teyla challenged.

"Oh… well, I meant to say I _was _trying to meditate. You see, I gave up about an hour ago…" Sam admitted, crossing her arms over her chest and offering a lopsided grin.

"I see…" Teyla said, the awkwardness beginning to settle in for her as well.

"So," Sam said after several moments. "What are you two up to?"

Teyla smiled brightly, remembering their reason for being here. "Dr. Keller," she indicated the woman standing beside her, who gave a gauche wave. "has asked me to teach her some sparring techniques. We thought we might begin our lessons today."

Sam smiled at the idea. "Really?" she asked, intrigued.

"Mmm-hmm," Keller responded, not sharing the same enthusiasm as the other two women.

"Well," Sam said, bending down to pick up the candle and blowing it out. "Don't let me keep you waiting," she said, offering up another wide smile and beginning to walk out.

Keller stepped in front of her as she made to go past them and Sam gave her a puzzled look. "Actually, I was hoping maybe you could talk some sense into Teyla. She's… not felling well and…"

"Please," Teyla interrupted, giving the doctor a hard glare, and then turning to Carter. "I feel fine."

Sam raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the woman. "Look, I'd really feel a lot better if she didn't. Could you tell her that?" Keller requested, as though Teyla were not standing right beside her.

"What happens to be the matter with her? I thought she passed her evaluations?"

"Uh…well…" Keller stammered.

"I did."

"She did. But… um… she came back just recently with some kind of flu. It's probably nothing but, I'd just rather she got some rest, you know?"

Teyla sighed in aggravation. She was glad the Doctor was covering for her about the whole pregnancy thing, but she sure could be stubborn.

"This flu, is it contagious?" Sam asked, clearly buying into Keller's story.

"No," Teyla said, losing her patience.

"I can't be sure; it's not serious or anything, but…"

"I understand," Sam said, and looked back at the athosian woman. "Teyla, if you don't feel well…"

"I told you, I feel fine. I am not sick. Dr. Keller is trying to avoid her training."

"What! No I'm not! I'm concerned for you!"

Sam looked back and forth between the pair, eyes dancing with amusement. "Doctor's orders," she decided finally.

Keller beamed with satisfaction, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue at the other woman.

"But, Colonel…" Teyla whined. "If I am confined to my quarters how is Dr. Keller to begin her training?"

"Well… umm…" Sam hesitated. "I'm open," she said, without really thinking.

Upon hearing this suggestion, the beaming doctor's face sank in horror and Teyla immediately lit up.

"I think that is an excellent idea," Teyla chided with a big smile while Keller stuttered.

"You?" she asked with nervous disbelief. "Oh, no… you really don't have to; I mean, you're a busy person and…"

"And I've been confined to my desk for 3 months straight. It's two o'clock in the morning; what work could there possibly be to get done?"

"Well, none, but… shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" she argued, and Keller was silent. "Besides, it's hard to sleep knowing the city could be destroyed at any moment."

The other two fell silent at the mention of the grim vision, and after a few moments, Teyla cleared her throat.

"So, Colonel; I did not know you could spar," she said with interest.

"Well, I don't know much about stick fighting but back on Earth I used to train cadets in self defense."

"Really? Well, I think Dr. Keller could learn much from you then," she said brightly, and nodding to the woman standing beside her, she swept out of the room, leaving the two Earthlings alone.

The pair smiled awkwardly at each other for several moments before Sam shrugged and said: "Alright. Let's get started."

She walked over to a stack of mats and put her candle down. Keller shuffled over to stand across from her when she turned to face her.

"Ok. Attack me," she ordered.

Keller looked shocked at this request. "Wh-what?" she asked.

"It's just a test," Sam assured her. "To determine your skill level."

"But I don't have any skill level!"

"Everyone has some skill level; whether it be extremely low or mildly average. It's just so I know where to begin with your training."

Keller swallowed hard. "ok…" she said, alternating from foot to foot restlessly as she prepared to attack her CO.

Finally, she rushed forward, drawing her fist back too soon and swinging it in an awkward ark towards Sam's face. Sam blocked the attack easily and, stepping to the side, twisted her arm so the young woman flipped over forward and landed roughly on her back, the air being knocked out of her.

Sam winced as the doctor struggled to prop herself up on her elbows from where she lay on the ground. Perhaps those 3 months had made her too enthusiastic.

"Sorry…" she said, moving to stand in front of her and offering a hand.

Keller scowled but took hold of the offered arm none the less and allowed Sam to pull her to her feet.

Rubbing her lower back, she studied the other woman with disbelief.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" she asked as Sam circled around her to return to her previously occupied spot.

"Air Force Academy; basic hand to hand training level 3," she replied.

"Yeah… any chance we could start with level one?"

Sam smirked. "Sure."

After about an hour, the two women said good night and parted their separate ways. Sam was surprised to find she had actually forgotten about the vision for a while, and she might be able to sleep tonight.

Dr. Keller, despite leaving very sore, had made some amount of progress in her first lesson. She could now block about 1/3 of the punches Sam threw at her… all in the same exact spot, of course, but it was progress.

Tomorrow morning, Richard Woolsey would be departing Atlantis to give his report to the IOA. Her fists clenched into tight balls at her side at the thought of the ignorant little man and his _superiors_.

She sure hoped she passed his evaluation. Not only would it kill her to leave now with that vision stuck in her head, but she was slowly beginning to feel like she had a place here, and now, a responsibility.


	7. Miller's Crossing

Author's Note: Alright, this one really has very little to do with the actual episode… I just noticed that none of the girls were in this episode, (despite it being AMAZING!) and so this is my take on what they were getting up to while the guys were all on Earth. Its continuing the story I started in The Seer if anyone's wondering.

(there is a small mention to one of my SG-1 fics as well.)

Miller's Crossing

Jennifer took a long swig from her water bottle and then looked breathlessly towards the other woman in the room.

Sam smiled in amusement at the disheveled young woman; wearing that face that was trying to convey the message of 'that was a piece of cake,' while her eyes were unconsciously pleading for an escape from the torture.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight," Sam said, giving into the eyes once more. "We'll pick it up tomorrow night."

Jennifer sighed in relief and undid her sweat tangled hair. It sort of stuck in a gelled/poofed state as she made her way to the door and the _showers._

She turned back just as the door slid open and raised an eyebrow at the woman packing sweat bands back into her duffel bag in the corner, silently wondering why she wasn't all sweaty as well.

"You coming?" she asked.

Sam looked up in surprise but waved her off. "Yeah, go ahead without me. I'm just goanna pack some of this stuff up," she said, referring to the pile of punching bags, dumbbells and arm weights lying against the wall beside the door.

Keller glanced once between the equipment and her commanding officer. "Ok," she gave in. "Goodnight, Colonel."

"Night, Doctor," Sam said as Keller disappeared around the corner and the doors slid shut.

Now alone in complete silence, Sam let the pretend smile wipe from her face and she sighed.

She zipped up the duffel bag and made her way over to the said pile of heavy objects. She sighed again, dropping her bag next to it. Sam Carter usually wasn't one to procrastinate, but this could wait, she supposed.

She crossed her arms over her chest and gazed into one of the Atlantean lanterns that lit the room.

She wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight, she thought. Maybe everyone else had forgotten the vision, but for her that was impossible.

Sam shifted her vision to the rack of sparring sticks on the other side of the room.

It wasn't just the concept of the vision anymore; she thought it might eventually go away but now every time she closed her eyes she _saw_ it. The repeated vision of the city's destruction would haunt her dreams every single night. It's like it _wanted _her to focus on it… like she had to do something soon, now, even, or her nightmare would come true.

Sam sighed again and strode over to the rack of weapons that had been calling to her ever since she had entered this state of deep thought.

She picked up one of the sticks and examined it with care. She hadn't lied when she told Teyla she had never sparred with sticks before. These weapons were short and lightweight and felt clumsy in her hands.

She remembered fighting with the wooden staff back on Neruva before she got her memories back. She had been extremely quick to learn and very skillful with the weapon.

She frowned and replaced the stick, searching the rack for one of more appropriate size.

She selected two of the longer, heavier sticks and weighed them in her hands.

The visions weren't the only thing troubling her lately, though. They still had a wraith prisoner, and their work with the nanites was going nowhere fast. To make things worse, they had just received word that McKay's sister had been kidnapped having something to do with Rodney's emails concerning the project.

Sam stepped into the middle of the room and began swinging the sticks in large circles on either side of her, testing her coordination. She had never been one for air-fighting; that's why she had punching bags. She liked to know whether she was hitting the mark or getting hit. But when it came to clearing the mind, work-outs tended to do it better then meditation.

The reason for the kidnapping was of little concern to her compared to her other worries. There were plenty of reasons why anyone seeking information about the goings-on in Atlantis would be after Jeannie. But this whole kidnapping thing had thrown everyone off. McKay stopped acting like McKay; in fact he had packed and left the city without trying to insult or seduce her once. She supposed his relationship with his sister must have improved since the last time they worked together.

She began testing different moves now, from the martial arts Teal'c had taught her to the violent strikes she had learned on Neruva. The sticks sliced through the air like whips while she spun and waved the weapons about her.

From the short time she had been given to work with Mrs. Miller, she had grown a great respect for her. Of course, as amusing as it was, the childish behavior wasn't one of her strongest traits; but Jeannie was very smart and had good values. She respected that. Not to mention the fact that if she had never had the time to speak with Jeannie, she'd still be calling McKay 'Rodney' rather then 'Meredith' and she would never have found out about the nice little embarrassing stories McKay kept to himself.

She was worried for both Rodney and Jeannie. But then there was also Teyla…

"Teyla!" Sam exclaimed, as one of her spins landed her facing the said woman in the doorway.

The Athosian raised an eyebrow as her eyes swept around the room and finally landed on the woman frozen in front of her. From what she had seen of her new commanding officer outside of her office so far, Teyla was beginning to think of her as being very _odd_.

"Colonel Carter…" she greeted. "…Do you not… _sleep_ where you come from?" she asked, in the most polite way possible.

Sam straightened, remembering that the two women had decided to hold sessions in the middle of the night. She blew some hair out of her face awkwardly. "Oh, well… yeah, I do… I just… I just finished a training session with Doctor Keller and I was…"

"Exercising?" Teyla finished for her, her eyes drifting to the sparring sticks still clenched in either hand.

Sam looked down at the sticks as well and then back up at Teyla. She smiled weakly and waved them in recognition. "Yeah."

Teyla smiled in return, then scanned the room again as though double-checking that Colonel Carter was the only one in the room. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

Sam looked slightly frightened by that suggestion and her frown showed it. "Umm… no, sure… go ahead," she said, forcing a smile.

Teyla returned it and walked over to the rack to select her own sticks.

"Feeling better?" Sam asked, slightly uneasily.

"Excuse me?" Teyla asked, confused.

"The, umm, flu you had?"

"Oh, that, of course…" Teyla said. "Yes. Thank you. I feel much better."

Sam smiled, though still unconvinced. Teyla had made her selection and turned to face Sam, twirling her sticks by her side.

Sam tensed, feeling the sweat forming on her face and hands. She repositioned them on her weapons and began circling in step with the other woman. She was beginning to feel that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

Sam had gone in an almost complete circle and her back was facing the door by the time Teyla made any move. She was the first to attack, and was directly in front of Sam before she had registered the movement.

Sam moved her sticks fast, blocking several blows with loud cracks as the sticks connected with one another. She stayed completely on defense while the other woman swerved around her, lashing out at every part of Sam's body left unguarded.

Teyla swung at her face with both sticks crossed over one another. Sam blocked it in similar, and heaved the woman several feet away from her with the force of her arms.

Both were breathing hard now, and Sam simply waited for Teyla to make the next move. They fell in step, circling each other once more.

"It seems your first priority is defense," Teyla observed.

"Is it?" Sam asked, trying to keep conversation to a friendly level.

Teyla advanced on her again, lashing out several times. Sam was forced to back up to avoid some, and she felt her arms weakening at the force of Teyla's strikes. Finally, the Athosian landed her first blow against Sam's face and she dropped onto her shaking knees, struggling to stay upright. She was gripping one of her sticks tightly in front of her, using it for support.

It stung badly and she could hardly feel the right side of her face. She squeezed her eyes shut and ground her teeth together, trying to hold back the tears. She'd had much worse then a whip lash across the face before. 'Pull it together!' she told herself.

Teyla frowned. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," was Sam's quick response, despite the fact that she could feel blood on her cheek and was beginning to wonder whether or not she would be needing stitches.

Teyla sighed. "Why do you hold back?" she asked, and Sam finally opened her eyes to look at her.

"Who said I'm holding back?" she asked, a fake smile creeping onto her face. "I wouldn't underestimate yourself."

Teyla only frowned more; in anger? Disappointment? Sam couldn't place it. She stood up hesitantly as Teyla turned around to return to her position.

"Very well…" she said, and Sam had the chance to furrow her eyebrows just before Teyla spun around and she was struck across the face again. This time she couldn't hold back the cry of pain as she tumbled over and rolled several inches onto her stomach.

Yup, definitely going to need stitches, she thought.

"You are not even trying!" her exasperated opponent accused.

Sam struggled to push herself off the ground. She could feel her hair sticking to the blood on the side of her face. What _was_ this woman's problem!?!

From a kneeling position, she picked up one of the sticks she dropped and gripped it tightly. "Yes, I am!" she argued.

Teyla fumed, and drew her stick wielding arm back once more. Though Sam's vision was blurred by tears, she caught this action and raised her hand in defeat. "Ok, ok!" she said, standing up and backing away several inches.

Teyla lowered her weapon and watched Sam impatiently.

Sam sighed and put a hand to her forehead, rubbing it warily. "Jennifer told me," she admitted finally.

The Athosian frowned more deeply, both in concern and dying anger. "Jennifer told you what?"

"That you were pregnant."

Teyla sighed and closed her eyes, turning away from Sam to return her sparring sticks to the rack.

"I suppose you would have found out sooner or later," she said.

"She was concerned for you. That's the only reason she told me," Sam called after her.

Teyla nodded in understanding. "I know."

Sam frowned sympathetically. "I'm sorry, it's just… where we come from we take pregnancy very seriously. We have to take very careful steps to ensure the safety of both the mother and baby before birth."

Teyla clenched her fist around one of the sticks and glared at the floor. "But if you do not think me capable of fighting and defending Atlantis then I am of no use to you!"

Sam's mouth dropped open slightly at that remark. "What!?! No! Teyla, that's not was this is about!"

When Teyla still did not look up, Sam sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Look, I know we may not know each other very well yet, but don't think I'm taking this position lightly! As commander of this city the only thing that matters to me more than Atlantis is the people in it; that includes you and Ronan!"

Teyla frowned and creased her eyebrows sadly, lifting her chin just enough so she could glance over her shoulder at the other woman.

Sam took her hands off her hips and dangled them loosely at her sides, her anger fading away to be replaced with a look of concern. "If anything were to happen to any of you…" she trailed off, but Teyla understood. She nodded and turned fully to face her.

"Thank you, Colonel Carter," she said, smiling weakly.

With that, she brushed lightly past Sam and out of the room, leaving the other woman standing alone with nothing to say once more.

Sam rubbed her face in exhaustion, and was slightly surprised when her hand came away red. Then she remembered getting whacked in the face by the stick two times in a row.

She sighed deeply and went to retrieve her forgotten duffel bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she left the room.

If it had been anyone else who had hit her in the face twice with a big wooden stick, she probably would have received adequate revenge right then and there; but for some reason she wasn't feeling hateful or vengeful towards Teyla at all. Perhaps slightly perplexed by her attitude, but she wasn't planning on beating the crap out of her anytime soon.

In fact, she felt like the encounter had gone pretty well. She felt like sparring with Teyla was almost a sort of rite of passage for both of them. They both now knew more about one another, and with knowledge comes respect. She wasn't sure where she had heard that before, but it seemed to fit in this situation.

Sam paused outside the infirmary, contemplating whether or not to pay Keller a visit. Seeing as the lights were all off and it appeared to be empty, she thought better of it and walked on towards her quarters. She would let Jennifer have her well earned sleep tonight, though she might get scolded harshly the next day when the young woman saw her bruise.

She would say that she had tripped and hit some dumbbells. It would be believable, seeing as packing them up was what she was supposed to be doing… but who was she kidding? She didn't need to explain herself to Keller. She would just tell her it was an accident.

She didn't even shower that night, nor wash her face of blood… she just collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep like that, her legs dangling halfway off the bed and her face buried in a pillow. And for the first time since she had seen the vision, she was too tired to dream.


	8. This Mortal Coil

This Mortal Coil

"It's a streamlining program designed to boost its operating efficiency," Rodney explained while Sam walked into the room. He continued blabbering and Sheppard gave a sigh, exchanging a nod of greeting with Carter. "Look, the 'gate will be offline for what, 1 hour, 2 hours tops," he added while the Colonel nodded his head in approval, pretending to have been listening.

Sam leaned on the back of his chair, peering at his notes on the computer screen.

Before she could comment on the accuracy of some of his calculations, however, they were interrupted by the dialing of the gate, signaling an incoming wormhole. The three looked up, surprised.

"Expecting someone?" Sheppard asked to no one in particular as the gate locked into place.

"No sir…" murmured one of the gate technicians, studying a screen. "…but its Major Jordan reporting in from… M34-227," he clarified.

"You have video?" John asked.

"Yes sir."

Sheppard nodded and made his way over to the screen, just as Major Jordan's image appeared there. Sam allowed him to handle the situation, turning back to the notes displayed on the screen and beginning to bicker quietly with McKay, pointing out little discrepancies while the scientist defended them.

"What's the situation, Major?" John asked, paying little mind to the verbal exchange going on behind his back.

"Well, sir… there's someone here who would like to have a word with you."

McKay and Carter, forgetting their argument temporarily, looked up at the monitor across the room with furrowed eyebrows.

Major Jordan stepped aside and allowed someone else to step onto camera. Shocked expressions registered on everyone when the woman turned around and revealed the face of none other then Elizabeth Weir.

"Elizabeth..." Sheppard exclaimed, and she smiled in return.

"Hello John."

"Elizabeth…" a bemused Rodney repeated, shoving past Sam to stand directly in front of the monitor. Sam scowled after him. "What happened to you? How'd you get away?"

"I'm not Elizabeth."

Sam felt a sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw Rodney's expression change from hopeful disbelief to absolute confusion and loss. On any given day, she would have killed to see that expression on his face after she proved him wrong in a theory or math equation, but today, under these circumstances, it broke her heart to see him like that.

"…well, not the Elizabeth you knew," Weir continued to explain. "I have all of her memories and all of her thoughts… everything that makes her… me; but I'm a duplicate. I was created by a fraction of the replicators as a means of attaining ascension."

Rodney was frowning in disbelief now. "Well you… you look and sound just like her…"

Sam frowned. Perhaps Rodney and John had a hard time understanding it. Of course, seeing someone alive and well who you had thought to be still imprisoned by the enemy, and then finding out it wasn't really them… well, Sam would be disappointed too; but not surprised. This kind of thing had happened too many times on her record for her to be surprised.

Duplicate-Weir gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Rodney but its true." She paused for a moment to allow the news to sink in before continuing. "Now this group managed to isolate themselves from the others in order to pursue their study in secrecy, but they were eventually discovered and destroyed."

John frowned, and when he spoke it was in a hoarse voice. Sam could tell he was either holding back tears or still in complete disbelief like Rodney. She knew him well enough that she wouldn't be surprised if it was the former. John and Elizabeth had been quite close. "I don't know what to say… this is all very… ah…"

"Strange?" Weir finished for him, and they exchanged nods. "Yeah, I know. But we need to meet."

Sam perked up. Finally, the reason behind the call…

"We have information that you can use against the replicators."

John frowned. "We…?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes. Me, and… the other yous."

"The other thems?" Sam asked, speaking for the first time and then wincing at her own poor use of vocabulary.

Weir looked past Rodney and smiled when she saw Sam. "Colonel Carter," she greeted. "It's good to see you."

Sam smile back weakly. Perhaps under other circumstances she would have enjoyed a nice chat to catch up with the woman, but right now was not the time for that.

"It's good to see you too," Sam said back, wanting to add Elizabeth or Dr. Weir, but as much as she knew it wasn't fair for the other woman, she couldn't think of her that way. No matter how much she resembled Elizabeth Weir, the only way she could think of her was as a duplicate… a replicator; and the thought was giving her chills.

"Yeah, Sam's in command now," Rodney added, gesturing towards her vaguely. Sam kept the smile going but on the inside she was sighing with impatience. 'Damnet, Rodney! Is now really the time?' she thought, watching duplicate-Weir's smile broaden.

"Congratulations, Colonel," she said.

"Thank you," Sam said weakly, giving a nod of appreciation.

"And in answer to your question," Elizabeth continued, much to Sam's relief that her discomfort had finally been noticed. "I wasn't the only one the replicators copied. John, Rodney, Teyla, and Ronan's duplicates are all here as well."

Sam nodded in understanding. It made sense that the replicators would take full advantage of their resources if they wanted to study human ascension. John mimicked her movements, trying to convey a sense of comprehension though it was clear that the thought of getting to meet a copy of himself was making his mind spin. Sam gave an amused grin. He was like Jack—cute when confused.

She turned her attention back to duplicate-Weir. "I'm sure you'd understand if we held this meeting on a neutral planet?" she asked, trying to sound as respectful as possible, but Weir didn't look offended.

"Of course, Colonel. I had planned we would meet here," she said.

Sam nodded in agreement and turned to John. "Ready your team," she ordered. He nodded and hurried off, trailed by McKay.

Huffing a sigh, Sam exchanged one last smile with the woman on the other line before Major Jordan shut off the transmission.

Only a few hours later, Sam could hear the 'gate dialing from in her office. She glanced quickly at her wrist watch to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Sure enough, they were ahead of schedule, which meant one of two things: a) everything went as planned and the meeting didn't take as long as expected, or b) something went wrong. No matter what galaxy they were in, Earthlings had one thing in common and that was their capacity to get into trouble.

"Crap," Sam murmured, pushing herself out of her comfortable chair and rushing for the 'gate room.

She jogged in just as the wormhole engaged and she glanced over the shoulder of one of the technicians to see who it was.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC ma'am," Chuck said, as though she couldn't see that for herself.

"Open the iris," she ordered, and he did so immediately.

"You're clear to come through, Colonel," she said over the intercom, and a few moments later four familiar faces appeared through the 'gate. 'Only four…' Sam thought, double-checking her count.

"Shut it down," Sheppard hollered up to them, and the technician did so without waiting for a second order.

Sam looked at him questioningly from the balcony. Making eye contact, he simply shook his head and stalked out of the 'gate room. Sam closed her eyes and sighed at the realization of the other team's fate. Today had not been a good day.

Later, Sam was headed for her office after paying Rodney a visit so he could explain his new replicator-ship-tracking-doohinkey. Sam simply nodded and gave him a satisfied pat on the back. She was not in the mood for scientific sparring and she knew for sure he wasn't. Not after whatever happened on that mission.

Of course, past the fact that there were two teams to begin with and now there was only one, Sam wasn't sure what had happened on that mission. The team hadn't debriefed yet; she had ordered them to get some rest—not that she expected Rodney to comply, but it would at least give him some time to get his mind off whatever happened.

Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good to have all of Sheppard's team so withdrawn like this. She wasn't going to question them yet, though. She would wait until they were ready to talk about it—and even if they didn't talk directly to her about it, the news would surely get to her eventually, and the IOA could be informed then.

"Sam!"

Sam was pulled out of her thoughts by the familiar voice of John Sheppard calling after her. She spun around, looking for the source of his voice until she was able to pick out the man jogging up to her.

"Colonel," she greeted, trying to sound cheery and hide her concern.

He gave a weak smile in return, stopping a few feet in front of her and handing her a thick manila folder.

"Mission reports," he explained, watching her open it curiously.

Her head shot up momentarily and she looked at him in disbelief. "Mission reports?" she questioned, flipping through the large stacks of paper in the folder. "You were only gone for a couple hours. How in-depth could you get?"

"Rodney felt it necessary to provide a full detailed analysis of his new space-ship-tracker," John explained, walking with Sam the rest of the short distance to her office and stepping inside.

Sam gave an unamused laugh. "Of course he did..." she said, closing the folder and laying in on her desk atop the large stack of reports that had already accumulated from McKay's lab. "You know, he already explained to me how the device works. I don't need an entire handbook."

"Yeah, Iknow. That's what I tried to tell him," John replied with a sigh.

Sam grinned, taking a seat behind her desk and beginning to sort through the many papers that cluttered the surface. Folders and filing cabinets had never been her thing. That's why she joined the air force. If she wanted to live her life in a cubicle where everything was alphabetical, numerical, and color coordinated then she would have gone into politics or something.

"By the way," John began, taking a seat across from her. She glanced up at him quickly, encouraging him to continue before turning her attention back to the two piles of papers that sat before her, trying to differentiate between the stack with the pink post-it note and the stack with the green one. He gave the mess a sympathetic look before continuing.

"That, umm… vision you had…"

She looked up again in interest, giving up on the sticky notes and inconspicuously cramming them into the bottom drawer of her desk so she could move on to the next stack of papers.

"The Seer was right. We misinterpreted it."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, deciding to hold off on reorganizing papers until a later date and simply folding her arms over them.

"The replicators that built our duplicates also built another Atlantis—that's the one that was destroyed."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. McKay #2 gave me a pretty clear description of what happened."

Sam sighed, dipping her head momentarily. "Well that's a relief…"

Sheppard pursed his lips and nodded in agreement.

"Well, I mean… not for them…" Sam continued, trying to correct herself. "But I mean, for us… that's pretty good…" she finished lamely, then cleared her throat. "So I take it Rodney got along well with himself?" she asked, changing the subject.

"How'd you guess?" John replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Sam gave a weak smile, her mind drifting off to other things. "So, did you ask the duplicates if they knew anything about the real Elizabeth?" she asked, looking up at him sincerely.

He wore a sad expression and gazed down at the floor. "They, umm…" he began, his voice becoming hoarse again. "…From what they heard, Elizabeth, umm…"

Sam looked up at him in concern. She had a feeling what was coming and she looked down at her hands. "You don't have to say it, John," she said, and he nodded appreciatively. She looked back up at him and locked onto his eyes. "They're sure?"

"Well, it's what Keller told them. I don't think they'd have any reason to lie."

Sam nodded. She supposed they wouldn't, but who knew whether they were lying or not? Maybe they were just wrong. "Just don't give up yet," she told him. "Not while there's still a chance."

John nodded once again. He wouldn't. She knew that. And with one last glace, he stood and left the room to look for McKay.


	9. The Holiday Chapter

Author's Note: I suppose this would really belong more in SG-1s fic, but: a) it takes place in Atlantis and during Atlantis' season 4 timeline, and b) I wanted to write a holiday fic in here to make up for the 3 weeks going without a new episode, and this story's been on my mind for a while. I hope you like it! This is pretty much my first shipper fic, so reviews would be nice for this one!

Christmas

'Caribou' was the first thought that came to mind that morning when Sam turned the corner into the main hallway to join the group of holiday-goers on their way to the 'gate room. There were so many people, flooding through the narrow corridors like an endless bobbing mass…

On the one hand, she was glad that everyone had still remembered holiday spirit in the midst of recent events, but on the other hand, she had decided to stay because someone had to run the city while everyone was off celebrating—the wraith and replicators didn't care if they were ruining Christmas for everybody. And look at the number of people that were leaving! The city would only have about 3 people left by the time it cleared out. What would happen if there was an attack in the meantime?

But she wasn't going to deny anyone the right to see their families over the holidays and she wasn't going to be spending them worrying about the destruction of the city either—that prophecy had already been proven a mistake. Most people would be back after Christmas day anyways—they knew how important their jobs were.

Inhaling deeply, she stepped into the stampede and began maneuvering her way to the front. Everyone seemed rather cheery, and at least a dozen people bid her a "good morning" or "Merry Christmas, Colonel" on her way through the maze, which was a pleasant change.

Smiling at the passing faces she couldn't recognize and returning well wishes, she finally spotted a familiar head bobbing up and down in the crowd, and she pursued it.

"Jennifer!" she called, and the young woman spun around so fast she nearly knocked a man over with the large bag slung over her shoulder.

"Oh! Hey, Colonel!" she called back, slightly out of breath from the long trek with the heavy load; but none the less she was wearing a jovial smile like everyone else in the crowd.

"Here, let me help you with that…" Sam offered, relieving her of the bag and effortlessly draping it over her own shoulder. "And I thought I told you to call me Sam?"

"Right, sorry…"

Sam smiled approvingly and began to walk alongside the doctor.

"You're not coming?" Jennifer asked, noting the absence of any of the Colonel's own belongings.

Sam shrugged. "Nah, someone's got to stick around and make sure the city doesn't blow up."

"Right…" the doctor responded, though she still wondered if Carter had any family back on Earth—it seemed like she did.

"What about you? What do you have planned?" Sam asked, curious.

Jennifer smiled in appreciation of her interest. "I'm going to go visit my dad," she told her. "…have a nice, quiet celebration; just the two of us."

"That sounds nice."

"Yeah." She considered asking Sam what she had planned, but then remembered that she wouldn't be going home for Christmas, and thought better of it. She cleared her throat after a short silence. "Have any idea what anyone else is doing?" she asked instead.

"Umm, let's see…" Sam looked towards the ceiling, taking a brief moment to think about it. "McKay is going home to visit his sister; from what I heard, Major Lorne is holding some big holiday bash at his house, Zelenka is going to see his family—apparently they're having some weird Czech thing… and Sheppard is going to stay here and teach Ronan and Teyla about Christmas traditions."

Jennifer nodded, impressed with the variety of celebrations being held and the Colonel's knowledge of them. "Sounds like fun," she said, pondering the last one.

Sam gave an amused grin. "Oh yeah, I can see it now…" she said, imagining the two alien's reactions to John's explanation of the significance of a Christmas tree.

Reaching the 'gate room, the crowd dispersed themselves throughout the room and Sam and Jennifer were pushed to the front.

Sam looked up at Chuck, the 'gate technician, who was out of uniform like everyone else and supporting bags of his own. She smiled encouragingly at him and nodded.

"Go ahead, Chuck!" she said, and he smiled back before beginning to dial.

But before the 'gate engaged, it started to spin in the opposite direction and the technician looked up at his monitor. Sam waited expectantly as he reported the incoming wormhole.

"It's Earth!" he called over the crowd, and Sam nodded for him to patch her in as the 'gate engaged.

"Atlantis, this is O'Neill, out, wishing you all the happiest of holidays from the Milky Way Galaxy," Jack chimed over the loud speakers.

Sam grinned and clicked the speaker on her radio. "General, sir," she greeted. "It's good to hear from you."

"You too, Carter," he said, cheerfully. "How are things in the good old Pegasus Galaxy?"

"Good, sir; we were just about to send the holiday shipment through," she added as she paced across the front row.

"That's good to hear. Actually we were just about to send a little holiday shipment through ourselves," he said.

Sam raised an eyebrow and then shook her head at the General's ever present good humor. She nodded up to Chuck and he lowered the shield.

"Alright, sir, go ahead," she said, a suspicious tone in her voice.

Several moments later, the shipment was received as 4 people stepped through the wormhole. Sam gasped as she automatically recognized the faces of the other members of SG-1.

Vala, wearing a cozy sweater and a red and green striped scarf, quickly lit up upon finding her friend's face in the crowd, and she dashed the short distance to her.

Jennifer's eyes widened at the oncoming woman and she quickly side stepped out of her path, just as she made an attempted leap at Sam. Sam moved just quick enough to avoid being knocked over, and Vala instead wrapped her arms around her waist, sliding a short distance from the momentum and circling around her.

"Sam!"

"Vala!" Sam shouted back, still too shocked to do anything more then pat the woman on the head while she squeezed the life out of her.

Once they had made their exchange and Vala released her, the three men came to greet her wearing equally wide smiles. Teal'c, sporting a bright red Santa Claus hat, bowed his head, and Cam hugged her so tightly she was lifted off the ground several inches.

She very much would have liked to appear professional in greeting her 'colleagues', but, what the hell? It was Christmas. She could hug her friends if she wanted to.

She was still staring into the wormhole in shock when Cam finally put her down and allowed her to regain her balance.

"Jack… what the hell…?" she said, forgetting all need to be respectful towards her superior officer.

"I had nothing to do with it," was all he said before the wormhole disengaged and Chuck resumed the dialing sequence.

She pulled her team to the side and eyed them with total disbelief. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked ecstatically, giving Teal'c and Daniel quick hugs.

"What, you're not happy to see us?" Cam asked cheerfully.

_"You didn't get me a present did you…?"_ Vala added.

"You could have at least told me you were coming!" she said with an uncontrollable smile, ignoring her friend's last comment.

The wormhole engaged and people began stepping through the 'gate.

"Umm… Sam?"

Sam turned around to find that Jennifer had broken away from the crowd and was giving her a hopelessly confused look.

"Oh, sorry… Jennifer, this is Cam, Teal'c, Daniel, and Vala," she introduced, motioning towards each member of her team.

Daniel reached out a hand and she shook it enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, you're SG-1!" she established. "Colonel Carter's told me so much about you!"

"Did she tell you…?" Vala began, but Sam cleared her throat and cut her off.

"And this," she motioned towards the young doctor. "Is Dr. Keller; I've told you about her," she said, and Daniel lit up in recognition.

"Oh, right! You're the new CMO! It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, and Keller couldn't hold back the blush that crept into her face. She nodded appreciatively, then turned towards Sam and shrugged.

"Alright, I guess I better get going," she decided, readjusting the hold on her bag.

Sam smiled and embraced the woman unexpectantly. "Alright, have fun!" she ordered, and Keller nodded in response before stepping into the wormhole.

"It's a fountain pen…" Sam established the next morning when everyone was gathered in her office, opening presents.

"Ah…" Vala exclaimed, snatching the pen Sam had just opened out of her hand. "So you would assume upon first glance."

Sam gave her a frightened look and the men in the room exchanged amused glances, while Teyla simply leaned in closer to get a better look.

"It is actually…" she fiddled with it some until she had screwed the cap off the butt and was tipping tiny green and white pellets into her hand. "A tic tac dispenser," she exclaimed proudly, handing the pen back to Sam.

Sam frowned at it for a few moments, trying to think of all the possible uses she might have for such a device in the city of Atlantis.

Finally, she smiled and looked back up at Vala. "Thank you," she said, placing the gift on top of the book Daniel had given her and the incents from Teal'c, and then standing up to hug the woman.

"Hey, if she got little candies in hers how come I got the one that farts?" Cam asked, taking out the pen that resembled a finger and pulling it to demonstrate the sound effect.

"'Cause you are a fart, Mitchell," Sam said flatly.

Cam glared at her and everyone else grinned in amusement. Vala giggled at the remark.

"What can I say, Cameron? It made me think of you," she admitted, and even Sheppard choked on his coffee.

"Shut up, Sheppard," Cam said, turning to glare at the other man. "Everyone got you socks."

John's grin was wiped off his face and he swallowed hard, glaring back at his old friend while Teyla and Ronan shuffled their feet awkwardly.

Sam smiled in amusement, and finally broke the silence. "Alright; I'd better start cleaning up. I've still got a ton of paperwork to get finished…" she explained, beginning to collect empty mugs.

"Sam, its Christmas! Can't you stop working for just 5 minutes?" Daniel pleaded, refusing to surrender his nearly empty coffee mug. Sam put her hands on her hips and frowned at the man's stubbornness.

"Yeah, I thought General O'Neill _ordered_ you to get a life?" Cam added, and then hid his face in a sports magazine when Sam gave him the look. Jack was the only one that was allowed to insult her on a daily basis.

"Have you _seen_ McKay's reports?" she asked in disbelief.

"Screw McKay," John intervened. "I thought you said you've already been over that stuff anyways?"

"Alright, I'll admit; there's still some important stuff in there I need to take a look at," she explained, but still no one looked convinced. "It shouldn't take too long. I thought you guys were going to go play golf anyways?" she added, earning a glare from Ronan that told her she had just been added to his hit list.

"Ugh… not golf!" Vala moaned, throwing her head back in disgust.

"You said you liked golf," Cam said, offended.

"In what alternate reality?"

"Umm… that's ok, Vala. We'll go check out the city," Daniel interrupted, seizing her arm and rushing out of the room before anyone could object.

"Huh… guess it's just us then," Cam observed, and Teyla and Ronan sighed, seeing they lost their opportunity to make up an excuse. "You sure you don't want to come?" he asked, turning back towards Sam in the doorway.

Sam only smiled. She could recite a long list of things she would rather be doing, but only if he asked. Even fishing sounded more appealing right now.

"Ok…" he said, taking the hint and trailing John and the others out of the room.

Despite her promises, Sam was still in her office by the end of the day. She was surprised when a large mass descended onto her desk, covering the papers she had been scribbling on, (using her new pen).

She lifted it, studying the foreign object. It was a big gray trench coat—Teal'c's coat, she realized. She looked up at the figure looming over her questioningly.

"Come on," Cam said with a potent smile. "We're going out."

"Ok, seriously, where are we going?" Sam asked for about the fifth time.

"It's a surprise, Sam. Don't ruin it."

Sam sighed. She wasn't good with surprises, but she supposed they could talk in the mean time.

"So…" she began. "What've I missed?"

"You mean since leaving the SGC?" he asked. It was a casual tone of voice but still, the question made Sam wince.

"Yeah…"

"Well," he began. "I can't say you've missed much mission-wise."

"Really? I would've expected you to get more action now I wasn't around to fix everything," she teased, and Cam elbowed her playfully.

"Nah," he said. "Probably the most exciting mission thus far was the one where Jackson got bitten by a salamander."

"Ooh," Sam exclaimed, making a pained expression. "Was he alright?"

"Yeah. He had orange spots for a week, but he got through it."

Sam grinned at the image.

"So what else?" she continued. "What have you been getting up to outside of work?"

"Umm, Teal'c is experimenting with new do's," he explained, pausing when Sam sniggered in amusement. "Oh! Daniel finally asked Vala out."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked, impressed. "How'd it go?"

"Great, actually. They've already scheduled a second date; tonight I think."

Sam's response was cut off when it appeared they had reached their destination, and Cam ran his hand over the scanner and the doors opened onto a balcony. The wind outside was chilly and Sam pulled the jacket tighter around herself while she made her way over to the railing.

"Oh my…"

They seemed to be at the highest point of the entire city, and looking down on it they could see that every tower was lit up and reflecting beautiful streams of golden light on the water. Double moons brightened the dark sky which was speckled as far as the eye could see with bright white stars.

"It's beautiful…" she remarked.

"I thought you'd like it," Cam said proudly, leaning against the railing beside her. "Shepp and I found this place when we were out looking for the best spot to hit a ball from."

Sam smiled. Several minutes passed in comfortable silence while Sam gazed out at the sea. Cam looked over at her with a concerned look in his eyes.

"You ok? You seem kind of quiet," he observed.

"What? Oh, no I'm fine."

Cam continued to stare at her and she met his gaze.

"Really."

When it became too difficult to lock eyes with the man anymore, she looked back out on the water.

"…I just missed you guys so much," she finally admitted. "I can't believe you're here and… you're going to be leaving tomorrow."

Cam frowned and stepped in closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer, warming her. She smiled appreciatively and rested her head on his shoulder. She had thought maybe concentrating on work would take her mind off her friends being here, and then it wouldn't hurt so much to see them leave, but she had been wrong about that. It only made her feel guilty for not spending the short time she had with them.

Cam sighed into her hair and began reaching into his front pocket, making Sam lift her head. "I got you something," he said, withdrawing a tiny black box.

She stared at it suspiciously and drew her hands from the warmth of her pockets so she could take the gift.

"…Actually, it's from all of us really…" he clarified. "But it was my idea."

Looking down at the tiny package again, Sam carefully removed the lid. Inside was a large locket. It had a silver ring around the outside with tiny engravings in it and a beautiful cerulean stone in the center. Gently lifting it by the chain, she smiled. It was a miniature Stargate.

"Open it," Cam directed, and Sam searched his face some kind of clue before she did so.

On one side was a glazed photograph. It was the one taken on Daniel's birthday last year; where Vala was tooting on a party favor and Sam was lighting the candles on the cake. Daniel's face was three shades of red, Cam was laughing at him and Teal'c… well Teal'c was just standing there, but the cone shaped party hat on his head always made Sam giggle. On the opposite side, 4 signatures were inscribed around the words: FOREVER SG-1.

Sam's smile softened and she ran her thumb fondly over the words.

"You like it?" Cam asked hopefully.

Sam's smile broadened and she looked up at him, hair being blown into her face by the wind currents. She reached into the pocket of the oversized trench coat and pulled out the Santa Claus hat that had been stuffed in there by the Jaffa when he had grown tired of it. She ironed it out quickly with her hand and then pulled it over his head with a playful glint in her eyes.

"I love it."

"So, just so we're clear… there is _no_ such thing as Santa Claus?" Vala clarified disappointment evident in her voice.

"Well, I suppose it depends on your perspective," Daniel explained, thoughtfully. "Like I said, it started out as a story—the tale of Saint Nicolas, and then we incorporated it into our culture; telling children stories of Santa Claus and the North Pole…"

"So it's not real?" Vala interrupted.

Daniel sighed. "No, Vala. It's not real."

Vala pouted momentarily while Daniel ran his hand over the scanner to open the door.

"Then I suppose now you're going to tell me there's no such thing as a tooth fairy…" she began as they stepped out onto the balcony, but Daniel suddenly stopped in his tracks, seizing Vala's arm and pulling her roughly back through the doorway.

It had only been a moment's glance, a quick flash while Daniel hauled her from the scene—but Vala was sure she had seen Sam kissing Santa Claus.

After her friends had left, Sam sat in her darkened office by the light of her desk lamp, her feet propped comfortably on the stack of papers she had long abandoned, and stared down at her locket.

This was the only time she took it off; when she wanted to look at it. She knew it had probably been inexpensive, (she would have killed them if they spent too much money on her) but it was a treasure to her now. The words were a comfort to read and the picture never failed to brighten her mood.

She turned it in her hand thoughtfully, and then noticed something for the first time: On the back side of the locket, on the very bottom, engraved into the surface, was a tiny scribble. To most, the signature would be incomprehensible, but she knew that handwriting anywhere.

"Jack."

Author's Note (again): Ok, I don't really like writing things that are out of context with actual timelines, (cuz I know Sam's going to end up w/ Jack) but that doesn't stop me from being a Sam/Cam shipper . So this was just written assuming Sam had gotten together with Cam instead.


	10. Be All My Sins Remembered

Be All My Sins Remembered 

"So that brings the grand total to…?"

"14," John answered. "Larrin said she can get 3 or 4 more ships."

"Well that's great!"

"Yeah…"

John didn't seem his normal self. He was distant—something was getting to him, she just couldn't tell what.

"You ok?"

"Yeah," he assured, then added: "I'm taking Teyla off active duty."

Sam looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

"She's pregnant."

Sam looked away, trying to feign astonishment. "Uhh… ok…"

She'd known he'd find out sooner or later, but now she was feeling guilty that he hadn't been told first. She understood why he was taking her off active duty, and was glad. She would've done the same thing a lot sooner, but wanted to respect Teyla's wishes, (both as far as keeping it secret and cultural-wise) and had asked Keller to do the same until further notice.

"Who's the father?" she asked on a more curious note. The question had been bugging her from the moment she found out, but it wasn't her place to ask. She'd have hoped Teyla would have told John.

He shot her a funny look. "I never asked."

Sam looked away, feeling awkward. "Wow. Well it has been one hell of a day," she said, changing the subject. "There's one more thing you need to see," she continued. "McKay has kind of thrown us a curveball."

"Oh, great. I was just thinking we need more of those today."

Sam laughed.

V

"…This is NOT what we talked about Rodney!" John growled, looking away from the screen to glare at McKay.

"Yeah, well I'm sorry, but the block idea didn't fly… this was the only way," McKay said, seeming less than concerned.

They were observing the footage from the security camera where they were keeping the human-form replicator. Sam winced. The girl was wandering the room, running her hands along the walls in amazement. She knew the girl was a machine, but machines weren't supposed to be like this… not supposed to act like humans. She couldn't stand the idea of using her like a weapon.

"Do you have any idea what kind of a security threat this is!?!" John shot back in exasperation.

"It's not as bad as you think!" Rodney countered, his voice still showing no trace of concern what-so-ever. "I stripped down its programming as much as I possibly could without sacrificing basic viability. It can walk, it can talk, but it-it can't replicate or change its form or anything."

"Does she know why she was created?" Sam asked.

Rodney paused. "Of course."

Sam tore her eyes from the screen finally and looked at Rodney. "Well then she has a certain amount of self-awareness."

Rodney shook his head. "Yeah, so?"

"So?" Sam repeated. "I'm not sure how comfortable I am sending her to her death."

"Death?" Rodney asked, looking bored with the argument. "It can't die… its not alive… it-it's a program! I mean its consciousness is just a bunch of ones and zeroes. I mean, you can call it "she" all you want but it's still just a thing—it's a prop… it's a… really advanced radio-controlled weapon. I mean, you don't feel sorry for your bullets do you? …your… bombs?"

Sam sighed. "Alright, still…" she paused, trying to come up with a sufficient argument while Rodney pulled out a data-pad and began working on it. "It's weird…" she finally settled on. "…I mean, I…"

"You feel sorry for her?" Rodney finished for her, looking up momentarily from what he was doing. Sam was so alarmed by his words that she couldn't respond. "Well, let me remind you, _Colonel_; you also felt sorry for Fifth and your replicator duplicate and just look where that got you."

Sam felt as though she had just been slapped in the face. She knew Rodney hadn't put much thought behind his words, but it still felt like shit to hear; especially after she had stood up for him back with Ellis.

John bowed his head, not daring to say anything, and Sam was actually glad for once that Rodney was too busy with whatever he was doing to pay attention to her, because she couldn't bear either of the men seeing her choke up like this.

She began to back away towards the door, struggling to find words, and when she spoke her voice came out raspy.

"…Alright…" she said. "Sorry. I'll… I'll leave you to it then."

With that, she turned and strode quickly from her own office, not daring to look back. John looked up and glared at Rodney.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, his tone unimpressed.

The man looked up from what he was doing. "What!?!"

John sighed. He could be so oblivious some times. He shot him another look and swept from the room, leaving Rodney feeling frustrated and confused.

V

"Sam?"

Sam spun around, and then turned her face again to wipe tears away, pretending to be rubbing something in her eye. She couldn't let John know Rodney had upset her. She couldn't let herself think that either; it was stupid!

"Hi John…" she greeted back, looking out at the ocean as he came to stand beside her, and she was glad it was dark out.

John let an uncomfortable silence stretch between the two. He wasn't good at this kind of thing, as Teyla had discovered a while back. And he had never been good at it when it came to Sam. Especially now it would be… _awkward. _After all, they hadn't spoken for years and years.

"About what Rodney said…." he began. "…you know how he can get…"

"No. He's right," Sam interrupted, turning to face him for a moment and offering a weak smile before turning back out towards the ocean. She had managed to take the sniffing raspiness out of her voice but her face was still red and didn't hide the fact that she had been crying.

John frowned. "It wasn't your fault," he told her.

She nodded. "Guess it doesn't really matter now, huh?" she asked with a weak laugh, which her concerned friend did not return. Instead he sighed and looked out at the ocean with her. He hadn't done much, but it would be enough.

"You going to be ready soon?" he asked, changing the subject.

She nodded, then looked at John. "You?"

He shrugged. "Yeah… I guess."

Sam smiled. "Rodney's pretty sure this'll work."

"I know."

Sam furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't think so?"

"No, no… I'm sure it will, it's just…"

"You can't trust a replicator," Sam answered, smiling in understanding. She was surprised she still felt able to.

John sighed. No… he couldn't trust a replicator. And he certainly couldn't trust the Wraith or Larrin, or even his own judgement for thinking that he could. He stared out at the water one last time as he prepared himself for what was to come. "I'm having problems trusting anything right now," he admitted, leaving Sam to her thoughts.


	11. Spoils of War

Author's Note: Ok, so when Sheppard and Lorne's teams were out on the mission, what was everyone else up to?

Spoils of War

"So how's Teyla doing?"

Jennifer shot her head up to look at her commanding officer. She hadn't been paying much attention to what Sam was saying up until now, having zoned out when she started explaining McKay's replicator tracking program.

"Uh… good, actually…" she answered as Sam popped another spoonful of blue jello into her mouth. "The baby looks healthy; no signs of disease…"

"That's good."

"She sure can be stubborn though," Jennifer continued with a laugh as she resumed scattering the food on her plate. "She's not taking the whole 'take it easy' routine well at all."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, so I heard."

"How'd Sheppard react when he found out?"

Sam sighed. "Not too well. I think he was kind of pissed that no one told him. Now I feel bad about keeping her on active duty for as long as I did…"

Keller smiled in understanding and went back to her food.

_"Colonel Carter and a medical team, please report to the botany lab."_

Sam and Keller exchanged confused looks as the message came over the radio. Great. Sam had enough to worry about already. What could possibly be happening in the botany lab that would need her attention? Without commenting, they both pushed away from the table and abandoned their lunches.

Jogging down the corridor towards the botany lab, they were surprised to hear gunfire and sped up. As they rounded the corner, the sight before them stunned them into disbelieving jaw drops. Or at least, it did Sam. Keller looked more on the absolutely petrified side.

A squad of marines were gathered a safe distance from the open doors to the lab and were firing heavily towards the entrance where several long, weed-like stems with big, fanged mouths at the end, (somewhat like a gigantic Venus Fly Trap) were shooting in and out of the room, snapping at the men. Sam noticed that each time one went down, it would take only 10 seconds or less to recover and then start snapping at them again.

Huddled safely behind the marines were Drs. Brown and Zelenka. Zelenka was nursing a large gash in his left arm and Katie was screaming and trying to shield him as the… plant… thing… snapped at the air.

"Oh my…" Keller exclaimed just as the rest of the medical team came to a sharp halt behind them.

Sam pushed the doctor back several feet when one of the heads turned direction and snapped at them. Jennifer screamed and covered her head. Sam only continued to look infuriated and shocked.

"What the _hell _is going on!?!" she demanded, causing several marines to glance over at her before they got back to shooting.

"Hey, Colonel!" one of them greeted casually as he blasted one of the heads through the mouth and it exploded. "You're just in time for the party!"

She recognized him as Major Green, who used to be a member of SG-11 before he moved to Atlantis. She'd commanded him out in the field a couple times, and wasn't surprised by his lack of concern at the situation.

She was about to express her current lack of patience for the man's sarcasm when Zelenka cut her off.

"It's the plant from M4R-287!" he explained, yelling over the noise. "It's grown to gargantuan size!"

"I can see that!" Carter shouted back, unconsciously searching for her handgun and then cursing when she remembered it wasn't something she carried around anymore.

Keller and another nurse had made it over to the couple and were working on Zelenka's arm. "How did this happen?" Jennifer asked, lifting his arm tenderly.

"We think the plant is carnivorous!" Katie shouted back, making Jennifer mask the other woman's terrified expression.

Sam had already guessed as much, and decided there wasn't much more she could ask that wasn't less then obvious already.

"Green!" she addressed her old friend. He looked over as he reloaded his P-90. "Pass me your stunner!" she ordered, and he grabbed it from his belt and tossed it her way.

She caught it and fired at one of the monster's heads. It reacted to the stun and crumpled onto the ground with the others. Taking her opportunity while there were no heads snapping at her, (for the rest were distracted by the marines) she walked over to the consul besides the open door and touched her hand to it, jamming the doors shut. The weeds caught between them became trapped and collapsed onto the floor, still snapping weakly.

The shocked marines dazedly lowered their weapons and looked over at their commanding officer. She crossed her arms over her chest and grinned at them.

Major Green, who had been in command of the squadron, opened and closed his mouth gracelessly. "Yeah… um… We thought of that, we just… couldn't get to the consul because of the evil plant…"  
"Save it," Sam cut him off, though not sounding too entirely strict. In fact, she was more amused by the whole thing then angry. "Now I expect you'll be able to take it from here?"

The man gave a sharp salute. "Yes, Ma'am!"

Sam smiled and began to head back to her office. In the background she could hear stun weapons firing at the rest of the 'conscious' plants while Zelenka was herded off to the infirmary.

"Colonel!"

Sam looked back as one of the scientists jogged to catch up with her. Her eyebrows creased and she stopped and waited.

"How may I help you?" she asked, her tone friendly as she continued to walk.

"Colonel, I just want to apologize," the scientist huffed, looking panicky. "I mean, I never expected it to…"

"Hey," Sam cut her off. "We're in another galaxy, remember? You can't be expected to predict everything that's going to happen."

The woman gave a relieved smile and looked shyly at the ground as they continued to walk. Sam looked more closely at her, and then realized, "You're Katie Brown, right?"

The woman looked up and nodded. "Yes."

"Ah, Rodney's told me a lot about you."

Katie blushed. Actually, Rodney managed to bring up his girlfriend in almost every conversation he had with Sam that didn't involve the destruction of Atlantis. She glanced over at the woman again. She was young, red-headed, shorter than herself, and her voice was high—almost girlish. She also observed how she blushed and smiled a lot, and kept looking at the ground. She expected Katie was a very shy, timid person. Sam smiled, for she was glad Rodney's girlfriend turned out to be so much different then herself.

Katie laughed lightly. "Rodney tends to over exaggerate…" she said modestly.

Sam smiled. "I'm sure he's a very lucky man."

Katie smiled back. "And I'm a very lucky woman."

Sam frowned for a moment, wondering how she figured that, then remembered her trip to the alternate reality last year and grinned to herself.

"Guess there's a side to Rodney that no one else sees."

Katie was about to ask what she meant when Carter's radio clicked and Chuck reported an incoming wormhole. She smiled to Katie, excused herself, and sprinted ahead.

The botany lab turned out to be quite a ways from the 'gate room, and by the time she reached the correct floor, Sheppard and Rodney were already headed up a flight of stairs, deep in conversation. She sprinted up to them and caught the last couple parts of McKay's rant before he turned to her and asked impatiently, "Where have you been?"

"Don't ask," she said, trying to catch her breath. She looked around, noticing the absence of the Wraith who, according to their last check in, was supposed to be with them. "So… what happened to the other Wraith?" she asked.

"You mean Todd?" Sheppard said, and Sam gave him a quizzical look.

Rodney sighed. "Don't ask."

"Took a dart." John explained.

"Either he escaped through the 'gate like we did, or was captured by the other hive ship."

"Hmm," Sam said in interest. "Well I can't imagine they would've given him a very warm welcome."

Rodney sighed. "No…"

They turned the corner and Sam stopped on the stairs when she noticed John had. He didn't realize she had noticed, and she followed his line of vision to the balcony where she spotted Teyla standing. She offered him a thoughtful smile before continuing up the stairs. Once again, she was unsure what had gone on during the mission, but whatever it was, she could get it from McKay later. She needed these two to talk things out as much as they did.

As she exited her office five minutes later on her way to McKay's lab, she couldn't help but glance out on the balcony. She beamed when she saw the two hugging, and she mentally patted John on the back. Things were still pretty screwed up, but that was one thing just made better.

Author's Note (again): The one unaccurate thing on here would be at the end, it was Zeleka walking with Sheppard and McKay, but I just switched that around since Zelenka nearly got his arm torn off by an alien plant. This was more of a fun one I wrote, (which got a little dramatic at the end) but I thought that was needed after so many episodes, even though Spoils of War was a very angsty episode... The plant idea came to me after SG-1's "Zero Hour".


	12. Quarentine

Quarantine

From where she sat, Sam hit her head against the wall of the transporter in frustration, making Zelenka look up.

"God, I hate this…" she grumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

Radek looked down shamefully. "Sorry…"

"Oh no, I don't mean you," Sam quickly corrected herself. "It's got nothing to do with you, its just…" she spoke slowly as she articulated her thoughts. "Being trapped here while the fate of Atlantis hangs in the balance, and not being able to do ANYTHING."

Radek frowned and Sam creased her eyebrows as she observed his reaction.

"Haven't you ever been in that situation before?" Sam knew she had one too many times.

Radek shook his head. "No. There's always been some way out of things, it's just… Rodney's usually first to think about it."

Sam frowned and lifted the back of her head off the wall so she was looking at him more clearly. "Radek, don't say that. You're a great scientist."

Radek smiled and looked at the ground. Sam continued.

"Rodney's just…" she struggled to find words to describe the scientist. "Well, you know how he is about sharing credit."

"Oh, yes."

"I don't care how much of a genius he is; everything he's done has been a team effort, and you're an important part of that team."

Radek looked at the ground, refusing to meet her gaze, then suddenly Sam perked her head up as she heard a sound outside the door.

"Do you hear that?"

Both stood up and put their ears against the door, and when John Sheppard's voice filtered through the heavy metal their discussion was forgotten.

V

Jenn and Ronon fled from the mess hall with reddened cheeks as John Sheppard's grin followed their retreat.

They fell into step with one another, each heading for their own destinations but without parting ways. Jenn was the first to clear her throat and break the silence.

"So…" she began, and Ronon looked down at her. "Where are you headed?"

Ronon thought for a moment. "…bed…"

Jennifer smiled. "Ah, that sounds good right about now."

Ronon returned her grin. "Where are you off to?"

"I have a sparring lesson scheduled with Colonel Carter."

"Really? You spar?" Ronon asked with interest.

"Umm… I wouldn't exactly call it that yet…" Jenn said blushing.

Ronon slowed and Jenn looked back with a confused look.

"Ronon?"

"Umm… my quarters are down there…" he explained awkwardly, pointing down the hallway he was indicating.

"Oh, right…" Jenn was stammering now, and it made Ronon grin. "Ok, well, I guess I'll see you around then?"

"I guess," Ronon said, and called after her as she turned to leave. "Umm… it was nice talking with you," he said and his smiling was knowing as he remembered their "talk" back in the infirmary.

"Yeah… you to," Jenn replied with a sweet smile as she turned to leave again, but Ronon stopped her once more, advancing a small step with confidence this time.

"Hey, uh… do you want to… have lunch sometime or something?"

Jenn looked surprised. "What? Really?"

Ronon smiled. They were definitely the most awkward pair of people he ever knew of, but then again, it was like this when he first met his wife.

"Yeah, why not."

"Uh… ok, sure…" she agreed with nervous enthusiasm.

"Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow, doc?"

Keller nodded and watched him walk away, then shouted after him at the last minute. "Umm… Ronon!"

He paused and turned back.

"Call me Jenn."

Ronon smiled. "ok."

V

"You ok?"

Jenn looked around at Carter who was sitting on the mats beside her with an amused look on her face.

"Oh… yeah, I'm fine," she assured. "Why?"

"No reason. You just seem rather cheery for someone who just got socked in the face is all."

Keller blushed and held the ice pack closer to her face. She had been making a lot of process lately, (had even been giving Sam a pretty good work-out) but today she seemed… off.

Sam smiled knowingly and drank from her canteen.

Keller sighed, a grin spreading across her face and she leaned into the wall, abandoning the ice pack. "Colonel, can I ask you a question?"

Sam lowered her canteen for a moment, saying, "Sure, go ahead."

Jenn looked dreamily at the ceiling. "Have you ever been in love before?"

Sam choked on her water and it sputtered onto the floor. Jennifer blushed more profusely and looked down. "Sorry… that was _way_ out of line. Just forget I said anything."

"No, its ok," Sam reassured her as she regained her breath. Jenn sighed and Sam studied the younger woman. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," the doctor was quick to answer.

Sam smiled in amusement and let silence fall between them for several awkward moments while Jenn anxiously fumbled with her ice pack.

"What's his name?"

"I asked first," Jenn immediately retorted.

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not the one changing the subject, the original question was directed at you."

Sam paused. "I think you're in denial."

"I'm not in denial!"

Sam couldn't help it. It was just too amusing. She tried to contain a laugh but it was slipping out so she bit her bottom lip. Jenn sighed, calming herself, and looked thoughtfully down at the icepack in her lap.

"It's not even a date. We're just having lunch together."

"If you say so."

The rest of the night was spent training, and so the conversation was put aside. Sam decided not to push the issue. As with everything else, she figured she'd find out eventually.

Author's Note: my thoughts on this episode: Ever since "Missing," I've absolutely fallen in love with Keller's character and I think Ronon/Jenn is the most adorable ship ever! And Radek was really cute in this episode so I thought I'd add in some more about him too.


	13. Harmony

Harmony

"They want you to what?" Sam asked, looking down at John's face on the screen in disbelief.

"That's what I said!" Rodney spat out before John could open his mouth. Both parties sighed before allowing John to continue.

"I know it may sound a little weird, but I thought it'd be best for interplanetary relations if we just play along." Sam raised an eyebrow, and the silence on their end urged John to continue. "It shouldn't take us more than a day's walk. We'll just escort the kid to the ruins and be back before dinner."

Sam sighed. The representatives of this planet just happened to be two very beautiful women. She shook her head. She couldn't imagine just how John and Rodney had gotten themselves conned into this one.

"Alright, fine," she finally gave in. "If its 'interplanetary relations' you're concerned about, I guess I can't tell you no," she said using air-quotes.

John gave her a funny look, catching the tone in her voice, but before he could feel the need to further defend himself, Sam spoke again.

"Just keep in contact and try not to get into trouble," she advised.

Sheppard smirked. "Come on. Us? Trouble?"

Sam grinned. "We'll 'gate back in 24 hours."

With that, the transmission ended and as the 'gate shut down, Sam swept from the control room.

V

"Ok, keep taking the medication and I'd stay off that ankle as much as you can," Jennifer directed the airman on the infirmary bed. She nodded sadly in affirmation and reached for her crutches. Jenn gave her a sympathetic smile and supported her lower back as she slid off the edge of the bed and began limping away.

Sighing, the doctor began to gather up her supplies and when she turned around, she was surprised to see none other then Ronon Dex standing in the doorway. She smiled at him and continued what she was doing while she addressed him.

"Ronon," she greeted. "Sparring accident again I take it?"

The man smirked. "No." There was a long pause before he continued. "You said you'd have lunch with me today, remember?"

Jenn stopped what she was doing and looked up in surprise. Of course she had remembered. She just hadn't expected Ronon to. She quickly averted her eyes again as a ridiculous grin spread across her face, and Ronon returned it.

"I guess I did clear my lunch hour today…" she said as she sterilized a thermometer. "I suppose I could try to squeeze you in."

Ronon smiled in amusement. "Good," he said, and the intensity of his gaze made Jenn blush and look away again.

"Right…" She finished with the equipment and left it on the counter for later. "Shall we then?"

Ronon stepped aside and allowed her to pass by him and they strode towards the commissary together.

V

As Sam passed the commissary on her way to her quarters, she did a double take and raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she noticed Jennifer and Ronon sitting at a table together; Ronon seemed to be relatively… cheerful…

She shrugged and continued on. She greeted Zelenka as she passed him on the staircase and was about to turn the corner when she noticed that someone was standing out on the balcony. She slowed and wandered over in curiosity.

"Teyla," she greeted as she stepped outside. "Didn't expect to find you out here."

The woman didn't seem to be as surprised to find her since she hardly flinched when Sam appeared behind her. "Nor did I expect to find you," Teyla responded, contrarily to Sam's observations.

"This is where I come to think," Sam explained, stepping up beside her and gazing up at the sky where Teyla was staring absently. "Guess it's a pretty popular spot, huh?"

Sam frowned when all she received for her attempt at humor was a tiny twitch of the mouth. It was night, and as usual, the sky was speckled with bright white stars. Sam looked back at the Athosian and tried to study her face.

"You thinking about them?" she questioned.

Teyla smiled weakly. "I know it may seem childish… but, when I am out here I feel… closer to them."

Sam nodded in understanding. "You know, only a small handful of the planets with Stargates are actually visible from this planet."

Teyla glared at her.

"…but I guess that isn't exactly helpful…"

Teyla grinned and looked back out at the sky.

"Of course," Sam continued, feeling safer now that she had made the woman smile for once. "I try to tell myself the same thing but that doesn't keep me from stargazing every now and then."

Teyla studied the woman inquisitively. Her tone was quite casual but the way she stared up at the stars made her seem so forlorn. "Colonel Carter…" se questioned. "When you came to Atlantis… did you leave behind a family?"

Sam smiled as she gazed out towards the small patch of darkness where Earth would be if it wasn't so far away. "Close enough."

Teyla stared at her in concern for a few more moments, then sighed and looked back out at the stars. "Then we share much in common."

Sam met the woman's gaze and waited for her to continue. Instead, she averted her eyes nervously and took a deep breath, as if considering what more to say.

"When I came to Atlantis," she began. "I thought that I was doing what was best for my people—that I would somehow be in a better position to protect them if I were directly fighting the Wraith…" She paused. "Now I am not so certain."

Sam frowned and gazed intently at the other woman. "We'll find them," she promised.

Teyla finally met her gaze and Sam locked onto it. She nodded once and then turned to leave.

Teyla was left in silence and waited for Sam to reach the doorway before she shouted out, "Colonel Carter!"

Sam looked back in concern, and Teyla paused as she tried to remember what she was going to say.

"…Thank you."


	14. Outcast

Outcast

Back in Atlantis, Sheppard sat in his quarters next to his half-unpacked suitcase, blankly staring at the floor and musing over recent events.

He lifted his head at the sound of light knocking on the door.

"Come in," he shouted, not feeling any motivation to get up. .

As directed, the doors opened and John was slightly surprised to see Colonel Carter standing in the doorway, looking somewhat hesitant on making an entrance. He gave her a questioning look.

Sam sighed and stepped inside, allowing the doors to close behind her. "How you doing?" she asked, making her way over to sit down beside him.

"Well I guess you could say I took a pretty good beating, but it's not like it's never happened before."

Sam smiled and glared intently at him. "Not what I was talking about."

John sighed and allowed a long silence to stretch between them. "I guess it was just very… unexpected."

Sam nodded in understanding and released him from the gaze she had locked into a few minutes earlier. It wasn't new information to her that John Sheppard had never exactly seen eye to eye with his father; but as she thought back to the manner of her own father's passing, she realized that was probably making it even harder to deal with.

"You know," she began after another long silence. "Rodney wanted to go with you, but some of our off-world allies were having a bit of trouble with their shield."

"I know," John said. "He told me."

"I offered to send Zelenka or myself to work on the problem but he didn't think we could 'handle it.'"

"Hmm…." John nodded in acknowledgment. Typical McKay.

Sam studied him once more. His head hung over in a solemn pretense and his hands remained clasped together before him. She'd seen Cam like this after bad missions several times before.

"You know, it's not good to keep things bottled up like this. Trust me, I know from experience."

John said nothing.

"I'm just saying, it might not be such a bad idea to take Rodney up on that offer."

Sam waited briefly for a response but when none came, she smiled weakly and lightly squeezed John's shoulder as she left the room.

Once she had gone, John sat in silence for a long time. Finally, he let out a great sigh. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to pay Rodney a visit.

**My thoughts on this episode: I was a little dissappointed that those 2.5 seconds actually counted for one of Amanda's 14 episodes, but other then that, I thought it was another excellent episode. I got really excited about the fight scene btwn the 2 replicators. That was pretty awesome! But anyways, thank you everyone for the comments on the last couple of chapters. Can't wait for next week's episode!**


	15. Trio

Trio

"On the bright side," Sam said as Jennifer rewrapped her leg. "Our little adventure was enough to convince the locals not to stick around. They're relocating to one of the other colonies tomorrow."

"About time. I was starting to get the impression talking wasn't going to be enough to change their minds anyway."

The doctor snipped the bandage and skillfully rolled it up in record time. As her patient moved to get off the bed, she retrieved the pair of crutches from against the wall and handed them to her. Sam wrinkled her nose as she took them, disgusted by the weakness.

"How long will I be needing these?"

"Couple weeks at least," Jenn said, her tone casual.

Sam groaned in frustration as she hobbled off the bed.

"You know, it might be best if you stay in the infirmary a little longer; get some rest."

"Well it's not like I'm goanna be able to do much else for a while. I might as well use the time to get some of that paperwork done."

Jenn rolled her eyes and responded with sarcasm. "Ooh, it sounds like your week's goanna be packed full of fun then."

Sam sighed as she began to limp towards the exit. "Yeahsureyabetcha…"

Keller grinned and followed after her.

On the other side of the infirmary, the two women found Rodney sitting on a bed having his hands bandaged. He immediately looked up in concern as they approached.

"Hey," he greeted, though eyeing Sam's leg earnestly. Sam hobbled over and sat down beside him nonchalantly, making Rodney tense up even more. "How's the, uh… leg?" he stammered as Jennifer sat down on his other side.

Sam smiled at his discomfort. "I've had worse, Rodney. How're the hands?"

Rodney looked down at them quickly. "Oh, fine. Good. I mean, I've had worse too, you know?"

Both women grinned at his response, for they were sharing in the enjoyment of making the man feel uncomfortable. Rodney swallowed and averted his eyes.

"I'm, umm… I just wanted to say I never meant for you to get hurt," he admitted, looking up at Sam nervously. The fact that Jennifer was there listening to the conversation was making it even more uncomfortable. "I mean, I shouldn't have made you go up there. I don't want to say it was my fault, but…"

"Rodney," Sam cut him off. "It wasn't you're fault."

"I didn't say it was."

Sam frowned. "Well then why are you apologizing?"

"Because I should have been the one to go up."

"Then you're admitting it's your fault."

"No. You just said it wasn't."  
Jennifer was grinning in amusement on Rodney's other side. Sam sighed.

"You were very brave."

Rodney frowned, as though not entirely convinced, and Sam leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He froze and stared wide-eyed at the woman in disbelief. Sam grinned at his reaction, and turned her attention back to the young doctor.

"So, we still on for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yep. Maybe we can finish up that game we started?"

"Sounds like fun. Rodney, care to join us?"

McKay's expression had returned to his normal scowl and he managed to look disgusted by the suggestion. "No, I'm good."

Sam laughed. The man was just too fun to mess with. She picked up her crutches and stood up. "All right, but you're missing out."

"Yes, well, I think I'll live. Thank you," he said as Sam hobbled from the room.

Now left with just one of the women, he sighed and turned his attention to Jennifer. "Now about that…" he began with a nervous expression.

Jennifer laughed. "Don't worry, Rodney. What happens in the hole, stays in the hole."

**Author's Note: This episode was brilliant! Probably one of my favorite's thus far! The only disappointment? IT WAS TOO SHORT!!!**


	16. Midway

Author's Note: OMG!!! TEAL'C! This episode was awesome!!! Ok. The missing scene I did for this one was written as a sort of alternate ending, (Teal'c didn't go back to the SGC until later). Anyways, thank you so much for the comments on Trio. Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy this one too!

Midway

"This is where you want to hit," Sam explained, illustrating the attack by slowly bringing the side of her hand to rest on the said location just beyond the base of the neck. The young officer she had been instructing, Lieutenant Avery, nodded in understanding.

"Colonel Carter."

Sam turned towards the friendly voice to face the familiar form of Teal'c smiling warmly at her. Following the Midway incident, the Jaffa had decided to return to the city briefly along with the Deadalus crew to visit and make sure everything was back to running smoothly.

"Teal'c!" she greeted, returning the smile. She turned momentarily to dismiss the young woman, but Avery had already taken the hint and drifted over to the rest of the group to begin practicing the move. Sam turned back to Teal'c. "How am I doing?" she asked, in regard to the attack Teal'c had taught her several years back.

"Your coaching is most excellent, Colonel Carter."

Sam grinned at the compliment. It was only sheer boredom and reluctance to read through mission files that had brought Sam to the gym this early in the afternoon. She made the observation that it was much more crowded then it was at night. In most cases, she would have waited until after hours when she had a training session scheduled with Jenn, but she found working with the young officers to be most gratifying.

Sam nodded in the direction of the rack of sparring sticks. "Care to join me?"

Teal'c bowed his head. "I would be honored."

V

"Hey!"

Jennifer looked around to find Ronon jogging up to her, a big grin on his face. She raised an eyebrow at his unusual cheeriness, but responded in similar.

"Hey, Ronon! I take it the interview went well?"

"_Indeed._" Ronon grinned at the questioning look he received, and forged on. "You should have seen Sheppard when we pulled him out of the jumper."

"Yeah, I can only imagine," Jenn said as she began to walk with him.

"Where you headed?"

"Self defense lessons," she explained proudly.

"You still doing those?" Ronon teased. Jenn smiled and looked insulted.

"Hey, it's not like you learn it overnight. Besides, I haven't gone for a couple weeks. I had to wait for Sam's leg to heal, remember?"

"Right," Ronon drawled, still finding enjoyment in mocking the doctor. Somehow he still couldn't imagine her wielding sticks around and being ferocious. He managed to wipe the smug grin off his face before asking, "Mind if I join you?"

Jenn looked at the tall man in puzzlement. She couldn't come up with any reason he would want to sit in on their tutoring session other than to tease her. Yet, he sounded sincere enough, and the doctor couldn't bring herself to say no. She could sacrifice a little bit of self dignity if it kept him in a good mood a little longer.

"Sure," she finally agreed, but pointed a finger at him sternly. "But no jokes, alright?"

Ronon only grinned. He couldn't guarantee anything.

V

A loud crack echoed off the walls of the large room as the two sticks collided and Sam stumbled several feet backwards, regaining her balance just before stepping off the mat.

Her arms shaking from the strength of her opponent, she twirled the two thin rods about her and held them in a defensive posture in front of her, waiting anxiously for the next onslaught as she began to circle her competitor once more.

Teal'c, meanwhile, stood in his usual stoic pose and allowed a small grin to grace his lips.

His eyebrow went up. "You have improved since we last sparred together," he observed, sounding impressed.

Sam, staying on her toes, did not thank him for the compliment, but simply continued to circle him. "I've been practicing."

In another attempt to catch him off-guard, Sam made an immediate transition from defensive to offensive and was in front of him, lashing out with her weapons in less then two large bounds. Teal'c blocked the first strike with ease, and the others that came after it.

Sam, growing frustrated with her inability to land a single hit, played on her strengths and quickly maneuvered her way around the larger man trying to take him from different angles; but there always seemed to be some obstacle between stick and body. If Teal'c was too slow to block the attack, he would use his large bicep or simply catch the stick before it made contact.

"Wow. Crowded in here today," Jennifer commented as they stepped into the room. She'd never been in the gym during the day, and was unused to the large numbers.

But Ronon wasn't listening. He drifted off towards the middle of the room, where some commotion could be heard. Jenn frowned and hurried after him, narrowly avoiding groups of sparrers.

Pushing his way to the front, Ronon discovered Teal'c and Colonel Carter going at each other with sticks. He watched with interest as Carter whipped around him, dodging his strikes and attempting to land her own. Meanwhile, Teal'c skillfully held off the attack by using blocking rather than evasion tactics. It seemed to be working well for him except he hardly ever got the opportunity to get in a swing of his own. Jenn let her mouth hang open, for she had never seen Sam in action like this before. She figured they probably didn't know they were there, or didn't know they were watching them, because they continued on as though they weren't present.

Jenn winced as Sam hit the floor after Teal'c managed to sweep her feet out from under her. If Ronon wasn't impressed before, he was even more so when Sam immediately reclaimed her weapons and rolled back onto her feet before even allowing the blow to sink in.

Unfortunately, the fight only lasted a few minutes after that. Teal'c's superior strength won the battle and Sam found herself in a rather twisted position with her arms stretched out behind her back and a firm hand on the back of her neck, preventing her from moving.

Sam grinned, and Jenn marveled at how she was able to come off as content in what looked like such an uncomfortable position. "Guess I didn't see that one coming," she said in a casual tone of voice.

Teal'c, who had been smiling throughout the match, gently released her and inclined his head. "You have once again proved a worthy adversary," he said.

Sam laughed, rubbing at her sore shoulder. "Hey, any time."

As the two finished up, Jenn managed to drag Ronon off, saying something about invasion of privacy and how she felt uncomfortable listening in on their conversation. Ronon went along with the promise of a big turkey sandwich when they got to the commissary.

V

Sam walked beside Teal'c on the way to the gate room to see him off. She had begged him to stay a little longer, but he explained sadly that he was needed on Chu'lak. It was the first time Sam's puppy-dog eyes had failed her when asking something of the Jaffa.

"Hey, I'm sorry about breaking up the sparring match earlier," Sam said, earning a raised eyebrow from Teal'c. "Think of it this way. If I didn't, you two would probably still be fighting."

Teal'c nodded. "I understand."

"You know, after I broke it up I was talking with Sheppard," Sam explained, earning Teal'c's interest. "Told him my guy could beat his guy blindfolded."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow. "That is most unlikely."

Sam laughed. "Yeah. Luckily he didn't take the bet."

As they entered the gate room she looked up at the balcony. "Alright, Chuck. Dial the bridge."

"Yes Ma'am."

Teal'c came to a halt and looked down at Sam. "It gives me great pride to see how the people of this expedition have embraced you as their leader," he said.

Sam smiled weakly. "Yeah. Most of them."

"All of them."

The pair looked up in time to see Ronon Dex striding over wearing a haughty grin. Sam gave him a questioning look.

"I don't doubt you," he said, and it made Sam smile with pride as she remembered telling him the same thing when she had first arrived here.

Teal'c nodded towards him, as though in approval.

"Thank you, Ronon," Sam said. "That means a lot to me."

Ronon nodded and walked over to Teal'c clapping him on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself," he said.

Teal'c grinned. "Indeed I will Ronon Dex."

Sam smiled in amusement as the man strode from the room, leaving them to their privacy. She turned back to Teal'c and pulled him into a hug.

"Say hi to everyone for me," she told him as they released each other.

Tears clung to her eyes as she watched him disappear through the wormhole, but she knew now that she was welcome here, and that would make everything a whole lot easier.


	17. The Kindred pt 1

Author's Note: This one's just a short, (alright, maybe a bit extensive) drabble. It really has nothing to do with the episode at all because I think it's good as it is, but this was written because of the change in command taking place in season 5, and because this is one of the last episodes of season 4.

The Kindred pt. 1

It was true. The city of Atlantis was beautiful, Sam thought as she gazed out at the stars overhead. "A remarkable feat of engineering," as she so put it. But it wasn't home.

She found it somewhat ridiculous that she could even compare the incredible city of Atlantis to the dull, gray corridors of the SGC and suffer from homesickness. After all, Daniel would kill to be here in her place. She should be grateful for the opportunity.

It really was silly; standing out here and stargazing when she knew Earth was light years away and impossible to see from this distance. What killed her more was that she knew that distance was only relative; Earth was but a Stargate away (or at least used to be) and yet she might as well be stranded on the other side of the universe.

Leaning on the balcony, Sam looked down at the object she had been fiddling with. She gently opened the locket and her friends smiled up at her from the tiny picture inside. Teal'c's words from the day she left replayed in her mind. "SG-1 will never be far away." How wrong he was.

It had been nearly a year since she arrived in Atlantis. The year had gone by quickly for most members of the expedition; what with all the excitement. But for her it had been long and drawn out. Each night promised another day she would go without her friends, and each day only brought her closer to night. She had nothing to look forward to. It just recently dawned on her that she had no idea for how long she would have to stay on Atlantis, or if she would ever return home. What if she got infected by some alien virus or shot or fed on? It wasn't like being a member of SG-1 wasn't ten times more dangerous then working a desk job in Atlantis, but what if something did happen and she was killed light years away from home? What if today, just moments from now the Wraith destroyed the city and she never saw her friends again?

She shivered at the thought.

It wasn't like she didn't care greatly for the members of this expedition. John had always been her friend and coworker. She had a great deal of respect for him. Even Rodney had somewhat grown on her. Jennifer was someone Sam had grown very close to in her time here. She was certainly someone of importance to her. Even Teyla and Ronon meant a great deal to her.

But they weren't her team.

She missed Vala and her constant state of enthusiasm. The woman was a pain in the ass but she couldn't imagine life without her. It took only a short time for Sam to warm up to her after they first met, and now they were practically the best of friends. After Janet, Vala was the only person she could ever open up to about "girl" things. It was nice to be reminded of her femininity when she wasn't off acting like one of the guys.

She missed Teal'c and the small jokes between them that none but SG-1 could hope to understand. The Jaffa had such wisdom it astounded her, and yet he was constantly expressing his pride in her strength, intelligence, and "wisdom beyond her years." She knew he could take out almost anything that crossed his path and was incredibly protective, but he was also gentle, and always a source of comfort for her.

She missed Daniel and that childish glint he would get in his eyes every time they fell upon something that sparked his curiosity. He was like a brother to Sam, and it had become almost a game between the two of them to throw ideas off each other and see how long it took before someone, (generally Cam or Vala) burst. But besides being an intellectual equal, Daniel was someone to rely on emotionally. She would be his place of comfort and in turn, he would be hers. She never had to fear judgment or military boundaries with him.

She missed Cam and his lame jokes and constant teasing. Even more, she missed the sweet, caring, sensitive side of him that no one else saw, but which she had known for as long as she could remember. Though the state of their relationship was unclear, (she knew he was her best friend, but there was potential for something more) it was a completely comfortable one. They both knew that whatever happened, it would be what was meant to be, and neither pressured the other either way.

She missed Cassie and her somewhat obnoxious teenage behavior. She would be learning to drive now, and, as godmother, this called for much anxiety on Sam's part. But the girl's strength and bravery had always amazed her, and she had confidence in her abilities.

And she missed Jack. She had hardly seen the man enough during her last two years at the SGC and now it was just becoming annoying. She was irritated that he hadn't come to see her yet and even more so that he had avoided all chances to visit when she was still on Earth. Yet she did miss him; his sarcastic sense of humor and the awkward moments between them when they were the only ones in the room. They were… Sam wasn't even sure what they were really. Coworkers? Friends? CO and 2IC? She felt none of the categories truly described their relationship, but they were something.

She wondered if her friends were missing her now. In fact, what had they been up to while she was away? It pained her to think about it, because whatever it was, she knew they were all together without her.

A silent tear rolled down Sam's cheek and she whispered into the night, "I want to go home."

There was that word again. "Home." With all the traveling she did and all the amazing things she'd seen she'd hardly describe the SGC as a home, and it wasn't like she had much of a home outside of the complex, (besides her house, which she only stepped foot in approximately once a week when she was back on Earth). Perhaps she didn't really have a home like Atlantis to be proud of, but she did have a family, and if her ten years of experience had taught her anything, it was that home is where the heart is.


	18. The Kindred pt 2

Author's Note: Great episode. But I watched the last two minutes and had a hard time believing that this was the first time Sam and Carson met.

The Kindred pt. 2

It had been years since she'd seen the man, and after the accident she didn't expect she'd ever see him again. She supposed she should know better by now.

Before the Atlantis expedition, Sam had been working at Area 51, studying Ancient technology. Carson was there too, studying the Ancient gene. They became partners—close friend's even. When they found out about the Atlantis expedition, Sam had been the one to recommend Beckett and send him down to Antarctica. After hearing news of his death, she couldn't help but feel responsible.

"How is he?" Sam asked as she strode into the infirmary. Keller looked up from her work and went to join Carter where she stood watching the unconscious doctor.

"He's ok, all things considered."

Sam sighed and walked over to the patient's bedside, perching herself on the stool there which was still warm from Rodney's visitations. Jennifer smiled reassuringly and gave her a light squeeze on the shoulder before she made her exit.

Sam had only been sitting there for about a minute before Carson began to stir. She straightened attentively and waited for his eyes to open. When they did, he looked about dazedly until his vision came into focus and then he looked at Sam. She smiled in greeting.

Trying to inhale, Carson became aware of the oxygen mask on his face and reached up to remove it, coughing lightly. Sam assisted, and once he was free from the plastic prison he regained his breath and laid back against his pillow, exhausted.

Sam lightly stroked his wrist and looked down at him with concern in her eyes. "How you feeling?" she asked.

Carson ignored the question. His eyes slowly opened and focused on Sam. "Samantha," he acknowledged. "I was wondering who they'd chosen to replace Elizabeth."

Sam looked down at the bed sheets as though feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry you had to come back to this."

Carson reached over with his other hand and covered Sam's with it, compelling her to meet his gaze. "I don't blame you for what happened," he assured her, and gradually let his arm fall back on his stomach. "Besides, I expected they would choose you. You're the only logical choice."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Carson."

"So," he inquired as he let his head roll back onto the pillow. "What else have I missed?"

"Oh not much. The usual."

Carson coughed again, and Sam unconsciously released his hand to retrieve the glass of water Jennifer had left on the bed side table. She continued as he accepted it graciously and took a small sip.

"I think we've set the record for cases with alien viruses breaching city quarantine." Carson raised his eyebrows at this, and she went on, counting off with her fingers. "We discovered a potential new ally, met up with a guy who could see the future, somehow managed to lose the Athosians, formed a, so-far, rickety alliance with a Wraith named Todd, fell in a hole, lost the Midway station…" Sam paused briefly to recollect her thoughts. "But on the bright side, we managed to destroy a fleet of Replicator ships."

"Well done," Carson said with a grin.

Sam shrugged. "Rodney's idea. Not mine."

Carson took another sip of his water as he tried to make sense of all the information. "So, is that _all_ you've been up to while I've been away?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," Sam responded casually. "Teyla's pregnant."

At this, Carson nearly choked on his water, and Sam hurried to assist. She took the glass from him and rubbed soothing circles on his back until the coughing stopped.

"What!?!" he shouted in between breaths.

"I take it Rodney forgot to mention that?"

Carson looked up at her in shock. "You're bloody right he did!"

"I'm sorry. This is a lot to take in."

Carson didn't speak for a few moments as he tried to pull his thoughts together. "And you said Michael has her?"

Sam sighed. "I'm afraid so."

Before he could stop himself, Carson was ranting. "Then what are we waiting for!?!" he demanded. "We need to be out there looking for her!" he shouted, beginning to get out of bed.

Sam made no move to stop him. Instead she shook her head and spoke calmly. "You think we haven't tried?"

Carson met her gaze and stopped trying to untangle himself for a moment. "Sam I can't sit here worrying about myself when Teyla's out there. I've been Michael's prisoner for 2 years! I know what he's capable of! I can't let her go through that!"

Sam frowned and her eyes expressed the utmost sympathy.

"Please," he implored. "I know Michael's ship better then anyone. Let me go on the mission. I can help you find her."

Sam thought for a moment. She knew he was in no condition for a mission like this, and her logical side was telling her "no way." But what if she was in his position? She knew she would ask the same of anyone. She sighed.

"You rest," she ordered. "And I'll see what I can do."

Carson nodded his appreciation. "Thank you."

Sam left the infirmary feeling exhausted and guilty. These were hard decisions. They had to be made using pure sense and logic, yet she couldn't help but think of how she would act if their roles had been reversed. She already knew, for she'd been in these situations many times before. She hated sending her people on missions like these, but she hated herself more if she didn't.

V

Sam watched painfully as the stasis pod consumed the doctor, and the familiar feeling of guilt twisted her insides once more. She couldn't bear to look at the others, for fear their expressions would be burned into her memory. But looking up at Carson's frozen, expressionless face didn't seem to be any less painful, for she kept having flashbacks of Jack going into the stasis pod in Antarctica.

Yet she stood there longer then anyone. John, Rodney and Ronon hurried out of the room, wishing to be anywhere but there. Jennifer felt no reason to stay. She had work to do, after all. But Sam had no where else she had to be.

She knew Carson was frozen—in a deep state of sleep more or less—but she didn't want him to be alone. She remembered how hard it was to leave Jack alone in Antarctica, and decided she wouldn't do that again.

Sam stood there in silence for the better part of 20 minutes before her radio crackled to life, alerting her of the return of Major Lorne's team. She sighed and clicked her radio to respond. "I'll be right there, Chuck," she promised. She stayed put for another minute before finally meandering from the room, reminding herself that if anything, she _was_ going to ensure both Carson and Teyla's safe return before she finished here.


	19. The Last Man

Author's Note: MOST DEPRESSING EPISODE EVER. But still, really good! I didn't think this one was missing anything at all, but, just for the heck of it, I decided to write something anyway. These are just some little fillers; Rodney's story only from Jennifer's point of view. Enjoy!

The Last Man

We lost many that year. It started with John and Teyla… both tragic losses, but to Sam they translated as failures. I think on some level she had given up hope. The only reason she kept going was so we wouldn't lose hope as well. All the people she promised herself she'd bring back were gone, and now we'd lost John too.

Elizabeth became a lost cause after we heard news of John. Carson, too. When the death toll of the Hoffen drug became too large to ignore, I was forced to abandon my efforts. Besides, it wasn't like he had much to come back to anyways. We were too late to save Teyla.

Our commander became distant. When Ronon requested to be allowed to leave, she didn't even put up a fight. I tried to reason with him, but he said that there was nothing left for him here. He could do more this way then he could by staying in Atlantis. Sam must have felt the same way because she told me as much when I came to complain.

Our training sessions stopped. Sam kept to herself mostly, though she never neglected to check up on Rodney and I. I think the way she saw it, we were the last survivors of a lost cause; but survivors none the less, and as long as she was here she was going to make it her responsibility to take care of us.

The IOA was constantly at our throats those days, and our commander was the only thing keeping them at bay. They said that we needed to concentrate all our efforts on defense of the city, and that we should abandon our efforts to save the rest of the galaxy. Of course, Sam would have none of that. The conflict was making us all nervous. I think Sam was perfectly aware that it was only a matter of time before the IOA lost their patience with her and just decided to send in one of their representatives to replace her, but she continued her efforts none the less, and somehow, managed to convince them.

She was given a ship: The Phoenix. It was, well, how do I put it… a piece of crap to say the least. But she made do. For a month, Sam and Rodney spent their every minute aboard the ship trying to make it battle-worthy. During that month, I spent my every minute going from planet to planet, saving whatever lives I could. We weren't given much time to dwell on past events, but the occasional word from Ronon helped to lift my spirits. Sam would give him whatever equipment he requested and return to her work. It became rather lonely, but eventually, their work paid off.

With the Phoenix fully operational, Sam was around even less. In his time, it was Rodney who kept me company. On the rare occasion Sam would drop by between missions, we would inform her of what little progress we had made and in grim spirits, she would take off again.

One day, we were sent word from one of Ronon's men. Ronon had been killed during a mission to one of Michael's research facilities. I was devastated. Truth be told, I'm not sure if the news ever reached Sam. A week later, the ship's crew returned through the Stargate, without a ship, and without a commander.

After Sam's memorial service, Rodney came to speak to me in my room.

"_Hey."_

_I spun around quickly to see who it was, then looked away again as I tried to wipe tears from my face. _

"_Hey," I replied as cheerily as I could, though only an idiot wouldn't have realized I'd been crying. _

_Rodney shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, and I felt bad. I knew he was horrible in situations like this, and I made another attempt to pull myself together before turning fully to face him. _

"_How you doing?" Rodney asked, though he knew the answer already. His tone suggested he wasn't doing too hot either. _

_I sniffed and busied myself with trying to remove a hangnail. "You know how it is," I replied. "Too many memorial services lately." _

"_I know."_

_There was a stiffness to Rodney's voice and it made me look up at him. He continued._

"_After Teyla... I really hoped things were going to get better." _

"_Me too."_

_Rodney frowned and advanced a cautious step closer. I could tell he was unsure how to go about comforting me, especially when he was equally suffering. Seeming to have changed his mind, he took interest in his shoes instead. _

"_I, uh... I'm returning to Earth tomorrow. Someone has to deliver the news to her brother and... stuff..." _

_I nodded. I didn't even know she had a brother. "Better you then me," I said. _

"_Yeah. Not exactly looking forward to it." _

_A short silence stretched between us before I decided it was my turn to be the tough one. "How are you holding up?" _

_Rodney slowly looked up at me. "Um... not so good actually." _

_I gave a weak smile and, without thought, closed the distance between us. With my cheek resting on his chest and my arms wrapped tightly around him, I guess Rodney figured it was time to hug me back, and he held me gently. _

So Rodney and I were left to take care of each other, and made each other promise we'd keep fighting. That's what the others would have wanted; otherwise their deaths would have been for nothing. But as it turned out, Sam's death would mark the end of Atlantis for me. And for Rodney.

You see, though dim, Sam had been a candle of hope for us. There were times we thought she was the only one who still had any hope. Now with her gone, everything was about to fall apart.

She was replaced by IOA representative, Richard Woolsey, (no surprise there). Changes were put in place the moment he stepped into the city, including the immediate abandonment of the Hoffen drug project. I tried to argue with him, but I knew from the beginning it would be pointless.

So I left. I could think of no other option. Just like Ronon had said, there was nothing left for me here. It turned out Rodney felt the same. We made the return voyage together.

We spent 3 long weeks on the ship together, going over past events and mourning for those we lost. It was the longest three weeks I've ever spent in my life. We'd left because we had no reason to stay, but now we realized that we'd really have nothing for us on Earth either. Not after everything we'd been through. How would we ever be able to just move on?

But we had each other, and that seemed to make it all the better.

We grew close, Rodney and I. Soon, we were more then just friends. After all, we couldn't just walk away from each other. We needed each other if we were ever going to _move on._

And so when we got to Earth, we started a life together. It was a simple life, but it took our minds off other things. Eventually, it felt like things were looking up, but I guess we couldn't be so lucky.

Apparently my long-term exposure to the Hoffen drug finally took its toll. There was no cure.

A year ago, I would have felt fortunate to be taken out of this world; but to have this happen now?

I told Rodney I have no regrets… but that isn't necessarily true. I have plenty of regrets. On the Deadolous, we spoke of all the things we could have done differently. Now I wish I had.

I can only hope Rodney will be able to find some joy in life again, but I know that will be impossible. He will spend the rest of his life trying to fix things if he has to. Now, I can only share the same hope that the lives we knew can be restored.

Author's Note: Alright, kind of a depressing way to end it there… Yes. This should be my last one, unless I decide to write one for like, the first 2 episodes of season 5 or something, which I might. Thanks to everyone who read and commented! You were great!


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